NationStates Jolt Archive

OFFICIAL DECLARATORY ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE IMPERIAL FEDERATION OF THE MONAVIAN EMPIRE

In light of the situation that has arisen in the realm of Cotenshire, an important diplomatic conference has been caled between the Monavian Government and the government of Cotenshire. This has given the Foreign Minister reason to invoke the laws declaring a need for a diplomatic meeting. The King and Queen have expressed a desire to bring about an international agreement between these two nations.

Because of this, the following proclaimation has been issued for all to know the intentions of the monarchs. Let all Monavian citizens know of the reasons for this conference.

OFFICIAL PROCLAIMATION OF THE MONAVIAN GOVERNMENT

By the grace of God, His Holy Imperial Majesty Charles IX, King of the Imperial Federation of the Monavian Empire, and Her Holy Imperial Majesty, Elizabeth VI, Queen of the Imperial Federation of the Monavian Empire, have both solemnly declared their intention to aid and assist the government of the Realm of Cotenshire.

The situation within Cotenshire is of much gravity and is filled with danger for the bloodline of the throne of Cotenshire. A most courageously written document, known as LEX SALSIBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII has been created to curtail the malicious scheme of a pretender to the throne of Cotenshire.

The King of Cotenshire, Willian V Salisbury, has voiced a desire to have other national leaders in foreign nations sign this document and offer their suport of it. So far, the Monavian Empire is the only nation to voice ant such support for this document.

Because we stand alone in this affair, we as a nation must do its duty to ist friends and neighbors, to support them in times of need. As is stated in LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII, His Majesty, William V Salisbury, by the Grace of God King of Cotenshire, Lotharnshire, and Ajaelland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Upper Lotharingia, Nieuw Vlaanderen, Fejeszekja, and Gothtenbury, Marquess of Frankenshire, Nikolitzanburgh, Hautavano, and Normagne, Earl of Wolvershaw, Margrave of Oranje, Zagovo, Jadwiga, Bonusiklos, Bacsalmas, Hatshamolk, and Ysbrechterdam, and Count of Franconton, Songailangrad, Svitrigailangrad, and Toledo, is the harbinger of most grievous news.

This news shall not go unheeded, and thus this meeting will take place with the government of Cotenshire.

May us in God's Grace prosper.

Signed,

His Holy Imperial Majesty Charles IX, King of the Monavian Empire
Her Holy Imperial Majesty Elizabeth VI, Queen of the Monavian Empire

As the Monavian delegation left for Cotenshire, the members of the delegation, esopecially the Foreign Minister and the King and Queen stood with uneasieness and uncertainty as they awaited their arrival in Cotenshire. The fact that the Monavian government had never signed a new treaty or worked with a foreign government that they had never formally established relations in many years.

As the plane has taken off from the runway at the airport where the delegation was departing from, everyone settled in for the journey. Soon time would tell whether this developing affair would turn out in a good way.

Lord Laurence of Malborough sat sipping tea in a hunting lodge next to the Royal Aeroport. It had been a difficult couple of days for him as he was charged with making the preparations for the arrival of the Monavian delegation.

He had spent most of the last week at the Royal Residence determining which courtiers and nobles would be in court during the conference. He had found that some rather unsavory characters were to show, such as the embarrassing Sir Jindrich von Sverta, who rarely even used silverware during a meal. Such uncouth individuals had to redirected elsewhere for the time.

Lord Malborough was then charged with preparing the aeroport, which proved to be even more tedious an assignment. He discovered upon his arrival that a mob had lynched some tax collectors a week earlier and the hanging corpses were visible from the runway. The bodies had to be cut down and a proper place to dispose of them had to be found so that there was no chance of the Monavian delegation accidentally coming upon them.

There were also worries over the runway, since it was mentioned specifically that the plane the delegation would be arriving on was “large.” No one knew how large planes were built in Monavia, so Lord Malborough cautiously ordered that the runway be lengthened. The project dragged on all night and in to this morning as trees had to be felled, their stumps cleared, and the new length of runway reinforced.

Lord Malborough was glad that he could finally relax and, reclining deep in to his chair, took a few more sips of tea. He could not drift off in to sleep, however, because the Monavian delegation could be arriving soon.

The plane continued to travel across the vast areas of land and water that encompassed the planet. As the Foreign Minister sat down to write further letters, he took some food to eat from a refridgerator in the rear of the airplane. After eating for the first time in sixteen hours, he washed down the whole mess with a small bottle of vodka.

The King and Queen were in the front of the plane, and were busy communicating wih legislators in Parliament about the current affair. Parliament had been busy preparing legislation and voting on it for a while. Ever since the Monavian government had chosen to issue a call for foreign nations to meet with their government, the members of the Senate and Representative Assembly had been working hard for over a week.

As it was apparent that the airport was a while away, the delegation soon grew tired. At about 9:00 P.M. the plane landed on an aircraft carrier specially designed to serve civilian aircraft out at sea.

In three days the plane would arrive at Cotenshire.

(OOC: Are you wanting me to RP your plane landing? If not, I am ready for your plane to land whenever you want to post it.)

OUT OF CHARACTER:
My plane will land shortly, I will RP the landing, you can do whatever you want, but just try to prepare your government for the meeting.

IN CHARACTER:

The plane approached the next stop on its way to Cotenshire. It would arrive in twelve hours. Everyone was waiting for what would come next. As the plane descended toward tis next destination, Mr. Carter wrote another letter, on behalf of the King and Queen. It read:

To the Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor of Cotenshire,

We thank you for your understanding and continued appreciation of our offer to meet with your government. We also wish to assure you that if Archibald is ever found within Monavian territory, we will arrest him and deport him to Cotenshire to be tried for his crimes.

We will arrive some time Wednesday at your airport, possibly at midday, along with our delegation. We will of course bring our customary gifts for King William.

We also wish that King William can attend the proceedings so that we may present him with our gifts and discuss this whole affair with him as well as your delegates to the conference.

Signed,

His Holy Imperial Majesty Charles IX
King of the Imperial Federation of the Monavian Empire

Her Holy Imperial Majesty Elizabeth VI
Queen of the Imperial Federation of the Monavian Empire

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To Mr. Carter, Foreign Minister,

His Majesty has received the correspondence from your most gracious King and Queen, and avidly awaits your arrival. He is most thankful for your offering of gifts, and would like you to know that he shall also prepare a plane full of gifts for your monarchs that shall be flown to your country following the conference.

Also know that not only will King William be present throughout the talks, your delegation will be made guests of honour at his residence and you will have all the time with His Majesty that you will need.

Your continued word of faith with King William in the fight against Archibald is, as always, greatly appreciated.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

The plane landed on schedule at the airfild in Cotenshire. The longer runway and landing strip was helpful in allaying the problem of the high takeoff and landing speeds that the Monavian plane used. The delegation soon filed out of the plane and awaited the time when someone would come to transport them to the place where they would be staying. The delagation members and their associated staff members soon unloaded all of the things on board the airplane and packed them up for transport to the place where the conference was to be held.

The conference was set to begin shortly.

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Lord Malborough was immediately informed once the plane was sighted and he soon made his way out to the runway on horseback, with several of his attendants trailing him. Immediately some of them broke off to begin loading the items that the Monavian delegation had unpacked. Meanwhile, Lord Malborough located the Monavian King.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. I am Lord Malborough, Royal Steward of the Salisburgic Dominion. King William V is waiting to meet you at his residence. I have set up for you groups of helicopters or coaches, depending on which you prefer. Either should see you to the Royal Residence in minutes.”

(OOC: I'm sorry that this has taken so long. I've had a few real life issues to deal with. Thanks for bumping it, although I have this thread on my favorites list so I won't forget about it.)

OUT OF CHARACTER: I am not forgetting that either. You are most welcome to take your time on this matter. Thank you for being so patient, considering how others might not be so patient themselves.

IN CHARACTER:

The delegation was split into two groups. The King, Queen, Foreign Minister, and Ambassador went into a coach. The rest of the delagates, including the two guards and the attendants, went by helicopter. The flight crew stayed behind to assist the domestic flight crews with storing away the plane in a hanger.

The delegation would arrive at the residence shortly, and soon the conference would begin.

Bump.

The train of coaches embarked through the crisp morning breezes of the Aargau Valley. The Monavian Royal Family, Foreign Minister, Ambassador, and Lord Malborough could comfortably fit in one of the coaches, although eight were needed for the transportation of Lord Malborough’s attendants, attendants to some of his attendants, members of some noble families, and their attendants. The train traveled at quite a brisk pace along a windy forest road before coming to the gates of a town. It was judged that it would be faster to go around the town rather than through it, and Lord Malborough did not wish that any of the beggars or other vulgar peoples of the town be in close proximity to his Monavian guests.

Once the city walls had been circumnavigated, the caravan found itself on the threshold of the Royal Residence. A guard opened a gate to the residential grounds upon sight of the coaches’ approach, thus enabling the delegation to speed through.

The caravan traveled about a mile further before coming to large fountain. The eight coaches curved around the fountain and came to a halt, because all paths from here were much narrower and had to be traveled by foot. “Do not worry, we are close now,” informed Lord Malborough, “And His Majesty should already be on his way to meet us en route.”

Upon exiting the coaches, it would first become apparent to the delegation that a light, fluffy drizzle of snow had ensued. The occupants of the coaches stepped out on to the weathered, but otherwise immaculate, cobblestone path. The fountain they surrounded featured statues of seven generations of Salisburgic Monarchs, as well as a ring of forty angels dancing around them. Emerging from several sparkling spouts was the bronze sculpture of William V in full royal regalia.

Moving outside the ring of coaches, they would see vast, rolling hills to the east with lush gardens in every other direction. A veritable army of peasant laborers lay strewn across the landscape, completing their morning chores, crawling along the lawn, cutting blades of grass one by one with a miniature pair of scissors, brushing cosmetics on to the blooms of several billion flowers, trimming their leaves in to intricate forms, whitewashing the many arches, busts, and sculptures that were sprinkled throughout the grounds.

“I am sorry that you are to see the gardens at such a time,” apologized Lord Malborough with deep resentment, “But you must realize that such measures of upkeep are necessary if the garden is to maintain its beauty during this time of year.”

The peasants in the area had already begun to vacate their duties, since they were not to remain near distinguished guests. But soon many footsteps were heard along a cobblestone path, and the King himself, at the head of a retinue more than one hundred strong, appeared before them. He hailed his visitors.

“Oh my most exalted guests!” said he most heartily. “I trust you are well?”

The Queen, Elizabeth VI, came up to King William at the head of the line. She greeted him in the most formal and gracious fashion, and gave her thanks for such a pleasant travel to the residence.

"Your residence is of the most beautiful and well-kept sort. It exemplifies the grandeur and majesty of your noble court and venerable legacy. Let the legacy of those who work to maintain this expanse of gardens be honored for their work." she replied, with much gusto.

The King, Charles IX, also expressed his approval and appreciation for the king offers of King William. "Your great and noble effort to welcome this delegation and provide so many great things for us is greatly appreciated by all here present." he added.

The Foreign Minister was busy staring out at the expanses of rolling hills and lush forests. He turned to Lord Malborough and said to him, "I find this place to be most pleasant and a symbol of the achievements of your architects and gardeners. The natural beauty clearly astounds me." He also turned to King William and said, "I offer my humble greetings and say that we are all well."

The party moved on along the cobblestone path to the fountain. They stopped briefly to speak with King William and Lord Malborough.

“I am greatly obliged to you, gentlemen and lady, for your astute observations and profound compliments,” announced the King. “Now let us continue on, as I am sure you wish that we do. Lord Malborough, would you and your conhorts mind escorting the most lovely Queen of Monavia back towards the welcoming hall? Meanwhile the rest of us shall proceed.”

Lord Malborough was quite startled by the King’s proclamation. He had made his way behind the King and asked a courtier, “Pray tell, what is this he says? To where is this group of yours headed?”

“Did you not hear, m’lord? His Majesty is on his way to the stables.”

“Does he honestly think that the Monavians wish to engage in equestrian activities at this moment?”

The King overheard them and turned briefly to address Lord Malborough. “That is very thoughtful of you, but I am sure the King and the Foreign Minister are quite tense from their long flight. Some exercise will surely loosen them up and get their sanguine humours flowing again.”

Meanwhile, a very brawny gentleman of swarthy countenance approached the guests. He held the distinction of being the only member of the King’s vast retinue currently smoking tobacco. His pipe bounced up and down as he talked. “Yes, the Royal garden’s are nice, but how the breeze moves through the forest and alerts your nose to the presence of a bull moose is an experience one hundred times as gratifying.” He then added, as if he almost forgot, “Gentlemen, I am Sir Ripthorpe, Robert Ripthorpe, Reeve in Chief of the Provincial Forests.”

Sir Ripthorpe removed his hat in such a gentle way that seemed to contradict his rugged, imposing figure. The hat was made of a green cloth and whale bone, with a feather sticking out of the top. His tabard cloak had many patches, and his belt bore a shotgun, a rifle, a pistol, and another gun of no immediately recognisable type. He had a dagger hanging from a lanyard around his neck and a massive compound bow slung around his torso. His black leather boots came up to his knees.

Then Lord Malborough came back from his discussion and addressed the Monavian Queen. “Your Royal Highness, would you please come with me. I can assure you, the journey shall not be in any way taxing.”

He then turned and motioned for her to follow him and a few of his attendants back along the cobblestone path while the rest of the crowd began to migrate along another branch of the path through the garden, in the direction of the hills to the east.

The Queen found Lord Malborough's request to be most polite and filled with much humble comfort. She gladly obliged to walk with Lord Malborough to the hall, where she soon sat down to talk with him.

"You are such a kind gentleman to have around," she said to him, "and the King surely enjoys your services and company."

She asked Lord Malborough several questions about his duties and the things he liked to do at the residence. She also added to this a few thoughts on the lovely fountain and the statue of King William, which she considered a fine work of art. She said the the King also appreciated fine artwork.

"I would like to know who you plan to have attending the proceedings of this conference", she said to him, "and what you may know about what we may do here as the other members of the delegation are out doing things."

The Monavian Queen conversed for an entire hour with Lord Malborough, who was much like King Charles in many ways.

Meanwhile, the King and Foreign Minister found the invitation to ride upon horses to be a most gracious offer. Horsemanship and the old ideas of breeding and caring for animals was a highly regarded and noble tradition in Monavia. They rode for a long time with King William, and conversed about the handling of horses.

"Your finest steeds are surely to be held in high regard among the many creatures that walk the Earth, and all of us who are from Monavia do most humbly appreciate what you have to show us." the King said to Sir Ripthorpe.

The Foreign Minister rode his horse as fast as he safely could, and charged over hills and gullies. He found the thought of riding throughout the day to be most entertaining. He then rode up to the King. "When will the conference be ready?" he asked King William.

Have you thought of, by any chance, of RPing Archibald's In-Character activities?

Bump.

The snow flurries had abated after an hour or so, but the breezes were still cold enough that they would have stung anyone not wearing a coat. Since the stables were nearly half a mile long, it took a while for everyone to locate their horse. Even more participants had joined the King’s retinue once they reached the stables until the rider’s numbers were some three hundred strong. There were even more footmen, who were mostly yeoman servants of the King and nobility. One such fellow was a boy who lugged around a keg of red wine that was a good deal bigger than he was. As the King galloped along, the knave sprinted after him in case His Majesty’s tongue became parched. The boy did this with such vigour that it was amazing he could keep it up for five minutes without collapsing from exhaustion, let alone for the whole morning.

Of course, while this was all happening around him, the King embraced this opportunity to learn more about his esteemed guests. Such a time to openly converse with a fellow monarch was something the King had had only a few times in the past. It greatly interested the King to hear of the wonderful traditions of Monavia, especially about their tradition of horsemanship. Indeed, it was widely quipped behind the King’s back that he had somewhat of an addiction to riding and the various activities that could be done on horseback. The King of Cotenshire concurred with the King of Monavia in that, as he put it, “There are few things a man can do that are nobler than caring for animals.”

The hunt commenced soon after they had left the stables, with the shooting up of such game as foxes and squirrels. The competitiveness of the nobles quickly intensified, and dares grew more daring until the equestrian mob was chasing down deer and wolves.

The truly dangerous game appeared, however, when they came upon a herd of moose. The horsemen rode haphazard along the outskirts, with its most chivalrous members weaving through the moose herd itself in hopes of proving their skill. A great many bulls of the herd were roused and began stampeding chaotically through the crowd. Several hunting hounds were trampled to death and many peasant footmen suffered broken and severed limbs, but none of the more genteel characters were harmed.

The herd sufficiently shocked and scattered, the aftermath revealed that a total of 12 bulls and 32 others had been felled. Numbering among those unlucky animals was an individual weighing one and three-quarter tons, whose cause of death was a shotgun blast to throat by the King himself.

The mid day meal was fast approaching, and as captivating as the hunt was, His Majesty did not want to starve his guests. The horsemen made their way back to the stables, this time entering them on their south side. At such an entrance lay a huge statue, thirty feet tall, and made of solid platinum. It featured King William V as an infant no more than 18 months old riding an enormous bucking stallion. The child raised above his head a gigantic broadsword, which was more than four times the infant’s height. “I do not remember posing for this sculpture,” remarked the King. “But admittedly, I do not remember many things from this period of my youth.”

The King assured the Foreign Minister that the conference would begin shortly. The retinue made its way to the dining hall.



Meanwhile, Lord Malborough had lead the Queen of Monavia to one of the residence’s ballrooms. There was no dancing occurring there at this time, but there were many women and a few men. Lord Malborough engaged in an intriguing conversation with the Queen. He found her to be quite the delightful woman that he expected of a Queen. She was told that many guests were to be in and out of the Royal Residence throughout the coming days, although unfortunately the Queen consort was not among them, as she was visiting family up north. Lord Malborough expressed his deepest regret that the two Queens could not meet on this occasion.

Their colloquy was briefly interupted when a majordormo came in and handed a note to Lord Malborough. He announced to the Queen, “King William V would like you to sit for a portrait after dinner. If you would mind, he would understand.”

Tea was served early that morning in the ball room, and the group entertained itself for the most part by playing cards and take turns on the piano.

(OOC: I am planning on RPing Archibald soon. He will probably be trying to contact other NS governments and setting up arrangements with them. His plans are to invade with a foreign army and take the throne once William V has died, since he knows he will not gain enough support within the Dominion itself.)

The Queen was most gladly pleased to oblige for the portrait. Many portraits of the King and Queen together were produced after their coronation, and having a new portrait painted was certainly a most pleasant idea for her.

Upon the fields of snow flurries and rolling hills, the King and Foreign Minister rode along, shooting at wild game throughout the day. The King explained the traditions of horsemanship and chivalry, (being a French term for the handling of horses) and conversed at length about the game that roamed the Monavian countryside.

The run-in with the herd of deer was a most harrowing experience, and the King was greatly impressed with the spectacle of King William shooting the largest of the bull moose.

The Foreign Minister showed a sign of great shock at the sight of a solid platinum statue of such size, such a statue must have been most difficult to cast and erect, as he had observed. Its sheer monetary value was astounding to the whole of the delegation, indeed most statues of such size were cast of bronze in Monavia.

Such statues would have been too heavy to erect if made of such heavy materials. Nonetheless, Monavian engineering and construction was still as impressive and advanced as anyone else's.

The Queen sat in the ballroom, fascinated by Lord Malborough's apparent liking for lengthy conversation. She listened intently to the piano music that flooded the ballroom as the residents played for some time. She found the idea of a midday meal to be a way to alleviate her apparent hunger, which out of courtesy she kept concealed for the time being.

She said to Lord Malborough, "I wish that I could speak to the Queen Consort, however as I cannot do this, I express my deepest regrets. I give my regards to her and her relatives that she is visiting with at the present time."

The delegation would soon enjoy a scrumptious and delightful midday meal, and the conference would be ready by tomorrow.

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Dinner began shortly thereafter. Hundreds of nobles and courtiers were seated in the north-eastern dining hall, with the King naturally sitting at the head of the center table next to his Monavian guests. Quite a lengthy procession of food was brought in through the arcades, including eleven roasted oxen, and other animals roasted, baked, and fried, totaling eighty-five pigs, ninety lambs, one hundred and forty egrets, one hundred and ninety ducks, and nine hundred chickens.

These meats were complimented by countless dishes of sole, eel, conger, and herring, and all of this was flavored with butter, almonds, vinegar, and honey and served with bread and eggs. Washing this down were more than four thousand gallons of the King’s finest wines. The food was brought in course by course and placed at the center of long tables for everyone to pick out the parts they wanted.

The King described to his guests what he suggested that they do for the next couple of days. After dinner they were to go hunting again until supper, after which many nobles will be arriving from the countryside and there would a festive occasion including dance and music. The next day the King was to open up ceremonies at the residence’s southern hippodrome and they would watch the finest horse racers in the Dominion. That afternoon, another hunt would be held, and that night the King was traveling to a local monastery.

He also mentioned that Lord Sebastien wanted to talk with Foreign Minister Carter tomorrow morning for some frivolous reason of his.

The members of the delegation enjoyed the feast very much. The King and Queen joked about other feasts that they had attended in the past during the whole affair. They were greatly flattered by the offerings of food that had been made by King William and his chefs. Food like this was sometimes served in Monavia, but the old and traditional nature of the feast was a source of much enjoyment.

Serving food that had been obtained from hunting wild game was common in many Monavian households, and local supermarkets often carried food from animals hunted in massive numbers.

Foreign Minister Frank Carter found so much pleasure in the feast and music that he had four helpings of roast oxen before stopping to try the chicken and ducks. He ate so much that he had to wait an hour to make room for dessert.

The King talked to the Queen very much about their days in Monavia, and chatted away about the state of politics in Cotenshire, or at least what they knew about the subject. Ambassador Ronald Greenburg was very satisfied with the whole line of local cuisines and dishes that had been offered to the guests.

Horse racing had once been a cherished tradition in Monavia. The whole idea of racing in the ancient sense of the word, whether by using chariots or on the back of the horse, had dated back to the days before the Monavian Empire had been founded. The tradition has been held in venerable regard since the Middle Ages and was still a part of modern sports in the country.

Mr. Carter decided to talk about the personal matter that Lord Chancellor Sebastien had wished to talk about. Around 9:00 p.m. the feast drew to a close, at least in the essence that food was to be served. The guests stayed for a while to converse their many discourses as the delegation readied itself for the night.

In the morning, Mr. Carter would meet with the Lord Chancellor at the residence.

OUT OF CHARACTER: I have created a thread that will take place after this one. It is a meeting with other nations that I have made contact with. The purpose of the thread is to formalize relations with those nations mentioned in the beginning of the thread. You are welcome to join in if you want.

In terms of time in the storyline, this will take place after the conference had ended. At the meeting, I suggest that you submit a proposal to have the other nations ratify LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII. There are about five or six of them.

In character, I will announce the existance of the other nations during the conference. I will RP the announcement.

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The King was glad that his guests seemed to be enjoying their stay so far. That morning he took the Monavian King to the southern hippodrome, one of eight hippodromes at the Royal Residence. There the King opened ceremonies before a crowd of 40,000. The two of them watched the races for the morning.

While those two were away, Lord Sebastien arrived at the residence by helicopter from the north. After settling down with a warm cup of tea and greeting Mr. Carter, he began the discussion.

“I am very gracious that you came in person, sir, so I am sorry if I sound in any way presumptuous. However, I doubt that the King has mentioned so far his LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII. Indeed, he is quite scared of showing his guests a bad time, and this fear combined with his natural aversion to all matters political has probably made him seem like a procrastinator to you. I am sure I am not wrong in this, as I have been King William’s closest advisor since my appointment to my present post.

“Whatever the case may be, I would like to know your thoughts on this document and my likelihood of attaining a signature on it by your most honourable King.”

(OOC: Alright)

The Monavian King and Queen were most impressed with the ceremonies at the southern hippodrome. The extent of the crowd that had been gathered there showed the delegation members that the Salisbrugic Domain of Cotenshire was certainly a nation of great political and demographic prowess.

Mr. Carter liked the tea very much, commenting on how well people in Cotenshire made their local foods. He turned to Lord Sebastien and talked about the matter before them.

"Lord Sebastien, if I may say this to you, I am intrigued by how King William runs his affairs regarding diplomacy. In regard to the possibility of a signature being placed upon the treaty proposed by your government, I believe that after this conference is finished, I believe that it is likely to be forwarded to Parliament fo approval. The King and Queen have the final say, but the Parliament has to prove the treaty to be within constitutional boundaries. If this treaty is unconstitutional, then a signing cannot take place. However, I believe that LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII is perfectly acceptable from what we know about it, and you can expect a reasonable chance of His Holy Imperial Majesty the King signing it. Furthermore, the Chancellor and Her Holy Imperial Majesty the Queen will also sign it, should it be ratified."

He then gave a small envelope containing some documents to Lord Sebastien to look at. Inside, there was a small paper with passages from the Monavian Constitution that were relevant to this conference. Among these was one that said the following:

ARTICLE II, SECTION 5

"The King and Queen shall be permitted to make Treaties, provided they have obtained the consent of the Senate, with seven tenths of the Senators present concurring."

"Your willingness to provide me with this information is very kind and honorable. I thank you for it," said Mr. Carter to Lord Sebastien, in regard to his invitation to have tea and discuss the matter at hand.

After tea, Mr. Carter asked about when the conference would start. "What time today would this begin?" he inquired.

“Thank you, sir, for your reassurances. Know that I understand and respect these customs of your people and these laws of your state, and it is of the utmost importance to me that the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII have a firmly legitimate and legal basis, however much time the diplomatic and legislative processes may consume.”

In response to Mr. Carter’s inquiry about the conference, Lord Sebastien responded:

“I am not sure when the King wants to discuss this matter. I believe he has envisioned today as a day of recreational activities, although I will try my best to persuade him to meet with your King when I see him. Make no mistake of it, sir, I understand how important it is that our monarchs discuss the diplomatic issues at hand. In the mean time, I will gladly talk with your King myself if he wills it. Please do not think of me as pretentious of my own position for suggesting this expedient. I only aim to satisfy the concerns of you and your delegation and to eliminate such anxieties as quickly as possible.”

Mr. Carter picked up a small mobile telephone and dialed a special reserved number for the King. "Your Majesty, I have almost finished my talk and high tea with Lord Sebastien. I will speak with your majesty later in the day about what has gone on here. If you may, tell the Queen and the Ambassador to come to speak with Lord Sebastien. He humbly requests your presence at this conversation so that he may inform you of the new matters that have now arisen."

He then called the Queen and told her of Lord Sebastien's request and she quickly granted it. Two hours later, after the opening festivities had ended, the King, Queen, Foreign Minister, and Ambassador sat down in an empty room of the royal residence. They waited for Lord Sebastien to arrive so that they may begin talking about the matter that was brought up by Lord Sebastien.

As Lord Sebastien sat down, Mr. Carter took the liberty to tell him in advance of something of importance. "Lord Sebastien, His Majesty recognizes that King William has wished for some time to relax after the terrors that Archibald has conceived in the recent past, and is patient enough to wait until His Majesty is ready to discuss diplomacy."

The Queen also spoke. "I will take note of this condition that exists as well as all other delegation members. I have ordered preperations made for the day to take place between us and King William. After we have finished, we may settle in for the night and begin the conference tomorrow if that is what His Majesty wishes."

Ambassador Greenburg showed great interest in the discussion, but as he had nothing to say at the present time, he stayed silent for most of the time afterwards.

Lord Sebastien was interested in hearing these unique perspectives that the Monavian delegation offered him. “King William knows that he is a momentous individual,” proclaimed Lord Sebastien in that dignified manner of his, “and this accounts for his seeming haughtiness, if I do say so myself. However, and I say this knowing that clarity in communication is the least such exalted statesmen as yourselves deserve, King William does not postpone his conference with you for his own relaxation.

“Instead, he believes that you would rather engage in more frivolous matters, and doing otherwise would be insulting to such potent guests as yourselves. I can try to talk him in to beginning the conference sooner, and I will in earnest respect for your efforts, but just know that, when I do so, the King will only complain of how overzealous I am in my duties and that he only wants his guests to have the gayest time.”

Lord Sebastien coughed a little bit, nibbled on a biscuit, and took a sip of tea, all hesitantly as if to distance this next sentence from the previous one.

“This is hopefully the best time to mention,” continued he, “that there has been a recent development that I have only been made aware of within the hour. I shall relate this to you as it is indeed your right to know as confidants of mine in this pact, but we shall not tell the King of this. Do not be perturbed by this caveat, as, even though I do not know how far this word has spread, I shall take full blame should His Majesty be angered by his belated discovery.”

Lord Sebastien drank another sip before disclosing the situation that was now being faced.

“A Magyar courtier of another court, a chancellor in fact,—” Lord Sebastien shuddered at the humiliation of his trade before further expounding, “—has been found to have been contracted by that envy of the Devil, Archibald. Several names of others who have associated with that fiend were extracted from him after a few hours on the rack, and the fief holder for whom he worked has been comfortably incarcerated until further notice.

“The fact that he was a diplomatic official suggests to me that Archibald seeks to correspond with other states in his bid for power. That is why I wish for the King not to hear about this treachery. I do not wish for you to see him in that delirious state of mind he developed the last time we heard about Archibald.”

When the members of the delegation heard what Lord Sebastien had said they began to talk amongst themselves about what they should do for the present.

The Queen spoke to Lord Sebastien. "We understand that His Majesty has wished to engage in more pleasurable and entertaining activities. We respect that and wish to cause no more trouble. Because of what you have brought to light about Archibald, we will include measures to contain his malicious scheme in our conference proceedings."

Ambassador Greenburg also spoke to Lord Sebastien. "As of the present, we are only suggesting or guessing when the conference is set to begin. I will leave it up to King William to choose when we should begin the conference, however, as we sit here to discuss our future, Archibald continues to cause his damage unchecked."

"It is regrettable that such unfortunate events such as the smearing of the reputation of Chancellors in Cotenshire by way of conspiracy with Archibald could have taken place. If Archibald comes to cause more trouble in this world, he may unleash wars, civil unrest, ideological polarization, international tensions, and even worse things upon the inhabitants of this world." the Ambassador continued.

"At the present," the King added, "Archibald does not know about Monavian involvement in the affairs of Cotenshire. However, he may have placed spies in our midst, and we should be most wary of such a possibility. He does not know of our intention to meet for the purpose of discussing LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII. Whether he even knows about LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII is still unknown. "

The King took a cup of tea and emptied it in one sip. He took a cup of biscuits and passed them out to his wife and the Ambassador. Mr. Carter had eaten roast salmon and caviar for lunch and declined the offer.

As the evening drew nearer, the Queen asked a final question. "As the day begins to close, I believe that King William wishes to see us. I would like to be brought to him along with my husband Charles. So now, where can we find him?"

She got up from the table, and all of the other delegation members soon followed suit. They went out the door leading out to the hall and traveled toward Kind William.

The Lord Chancellor assured his guests that everything was being done at every level of government to counter Archibald, and, despite how cunning the traitor was, they were all safe for the time being.

The afternoon had been spent comfortably in the drawing rooms of the Royal Residence. Several high ranking members of the Kings court had passed through that afternoon before supper and conversed with Lord Sebastien. If any of them knew of the turncoat chancellor, none of them revealed it through their words.

Later, when the Monavians wished to see King William again, the Lord Chancellor responded: “The King is visiting an Abbey now that lies on the western portion of the grounds. We shall go to him.”

The party once again utilised coaches for transportation, although they had barely traveled half a mile before the driver had stopped. “M’lud, a knighted man cried Ripthorpe wishes to solicit you,” he announced to the Lord Chancellor.

“Very well, bring him by.”

The green cloaked reeve who had introduced himself to the Monavians before the first hunt came beside the coach on horseback. “My lord, are you well?”

“Yes, quite so. And you, sir?”

“Never am I down when I am up on my steed.”

“I thought you were to be visiting Duke Wallenheim?”

“I have already had the pleasure of addressing him.”

“But I last heard of his court resting several hundred miles away in Brunnalden?”

“No, my lord, he has embarked upon this very court. Indeed, he comes representing a faction of the Frankish nobles that are quite disturbed by His Majesty’s recent actions. That is why I seek you at this odd hour.”

“Tell Duke Wallenheim and his cohorts that His Majesty is sure that his grievances are profound, but he absolutely can not attend to them at this time, as there are more important matters of state that deserve his attention.”

“Very well, my lord. Good evening to you.”

“And to you too, sir. Thank you.”

With that interruption put aside for the time, the coach continued along its path until it arrived at the abbey. Lord Sebastien hailed a monk, who told him that the King was in quite a sanguine mood and was playing chess with the abbot. Lord Sebastien was relieved that he had not yet heard about the news regarding Archibald.

“Now, let us not talk of what we have recently uncovered about Archibald in front of the King,” said he. “I simply can not have him breaking down in to another one of those fits again.”

The group was escorted in to the abbey’s aedificium by the monk and climbed up the stairs to the abbot’s chambers. In there they found the King, as innocent as ever, engaging in a chess game with Hugues de Baviers, the abbot.

“Oh, praise be to the heavens!” exclaimed the King. “My most esteemed guests have paid me a visit! How are you doing on this evening?”

When the abbot looked away to behold his new company, the King deftly switched the positions of two pieces on the board.

The delegation had indeed arrived in style for the time, and no one said anything about what had happened with Archibald. Everyone realized the importance of keeping this under a curtain of secrecy.

On the road, the King recognized the figure of Sir Ripthorpe, who had been out riding the previous day. Everyone sat down in the chamber and spoke briefly with King William.

"I thank you for your continued hospitality and courteousness my dear King.", the Ambassador said. He continued, "Hopefully when the conference begins, things will run as smoothly as they do now. A least we can relish the time given to us."

The Queen took a checkerboard and began to play with the Ambassador, while the Monavian King took an old tapestry and began to read the old Latin writing. Latin was the second official language of Monavia, dating back to the days when a Latin speaking empire existed before Monavia.

Mr. Carter chuckled merrily but quietly upon seeing King William switch the two pieces on the board. The Abbot will gasp in astonishment! he thought.

After the game of chess had ended, the guests paid a visit to the dining hall in the abbey and ate a hearty dinner. King Charles joked about the funny accident that had happened when at a Monavian state dinner some giblets had been left in a roast turkey. The Queen laughed very much at this when she remembered how such a hilarious travesty could happen.

Ambassador Greenburg ended the meal with a merry jest. "While we dine here in happiness, Archibald is probably hiding in the wilderness eating locusts and cockroaches." Even King William thought that the notion of Archibald suffering such humiliation would be so funny.

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His Majesty thoroughly enjoyed his guest’s company and conducted himself with an almost absurd manner of care-free gaiety. It was getting late, however, and the group had to get back to the palace for some sleep.

The Cotenshirick and Monavian parties went back to the coaches, with King William taking Lord Sebastien’s place in the coach with the Monavian monarchs. It was quite a frigid night, with the temperature certainly far below zero. Ice covered the roads and at times made it seem as if the coach was about to lose control. The journey was made successfully, however, and the ice only caused the driver to lament the inadequacy of his wheels and hopes for changing them out with more specialised tires.

The group arrived in the main hall and wished the best of nights to each other before retiring to their rooms. Lord Sebastien was certainly the most anxious among them, not knowing when he could expect the arrival of Duke Wallenheim and hoping that he could convince the King to discuss the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII with the Monavians soon. And so they retired to their respective rooms at about nine o’clock at night, in expectations that they would meet cheerfully in the morning, twelve hours later.

The clock showed two-thirty when King Charles IX of Monavia had his sleep disrupted by loud, brazen knocks on his door. It was clear from the many not-so-hushed voices that a multitude of people were standing out in the hall.

The loud and brazen knocking quickly woke the King from his slumber. He furtively roused the Queen from her sleep and ran out of the bed to the other end of the room. He pulled open a door to an adjoining room where the Queen's manservant Vladimir had been staying.

Vladimir, who had in his possession a pistol cane, which he brought to protect against a possible assassination attempt by Archibald or his cohorts, quickly took the cane and gave it to the Queen.

The Queen stood in the shadows holding the cane, obscured by the darkness that covered the room. The King sat on the edge of the bed. Vladimir opened the door and looked out into the crowd...


OUT OF CHARACTER: I hope I am not messing anything up here.

Bump.

Arising from their sleep, the Monavians would be struck by the cold of the night. They had been kept warm by layers of blankets and a pan of coals that had been placed in their beds, but cold entered in to was biting to the senses. The room was also dark to such an extent that they would be just as well blind if it were not for the quarter moon, the light of which managed to filter itself through the curtains.

When the door was open, a stirring draft poured in to the room, stinging those around the door with its searing cold. It gave way to an unsettling throng certainly numbering more than seventy, all crowded outside the door and mired in a debilitating flurry of confusion. There were among them butlers, guards, attendants, yeomen, a priest or two, and a few well dressed gentlemen.

Several among the crowd held candelabra’s alit, which created before the Monavians an image steeped in disarray, as no single wielder of a candelabrum knew exactly what was going on, and was constantly waving his flames about. Despite the many hundreds of candles, the light seemed woefully inadequate due to the massive size of the hall. The ceiling as well as the ends of the hall could not be seen due to the overwhelming darkness, and the dancing flames caused the many rococo decorations and embellishments on the walls and floor to be broken up into a patchwork of of glowing radiance and deep shadows.

The cluster of bodies was constantly in movement, with various characters leaving or entering the scene. One of them, however, stood firm through the disorder. A well dressed man, he was certainly not suffering from the cold, or at least no shivers could be seen through his ornate tabard and the great coat underneath. Upon his forehead rested an elaborately decorated spangenhelm with a gilded crown enthroned upon it.

When the door was opened he was angrily reprimanding a guard, with spurts of cloudy condensation issuing from his mouth as he spoke on account of the scathingly frosty air. “This is the room of the foreign monarchs, is it not—” His countenance changed for the better as soon as his eyes encountered Vladimir. “Who have I intruded upon here?”

"Dear sir," Vladimir began, "you have indeed intruded upon the foreign monarchs. I only wish that you know what you are doing here." With that, he left for the inside of the room and the Queen came out to the door. She came to stop in the doorway and asked the man who was standing in the front of the group to tell her what has been going on.

She stared at the man, and was indeed curious about how he could be so warm and maintain his composure in such cold weather. Despite this, she never gave the thought much care or regard. As she stood in the doorway, she dropped the pistol cane on the floor behind the door and beckoned the King to come out.

The King was very frustrated at why he would be woken up after only five and a half hours of sleep. He picked up an old robe that he had brought along for the conference and placed it on himself. Its thick damask outside and fleece lining brought him great warmth for the time. He was however in a decent mood, and calmly obliged to see who was at the door at this lonely hour.

King Charles was most amused to see why so many people could be assembled at the door. He walked to the man in the ornate tabard, and immediately asked him who he was. "If I may inquire, who may you be?", he asked the man.

Lord Enguerrand de Wallenheim had found the right room after all. For once, King William’s advisors knew something useful, thought the Duke. “Good evening, Your Majesties,” said Wallenheim, in confidence that these foreigners spoke good English. “I am Duke Wallenheim, and I do hope you excuse my interruption of your slumber, but I have most disheartening news to express that is quite relevant to your positions and interest.”

The Duke let himself in, waving the nine candles on his candelabrum about in a vigourous and reckless manner, as if trying to cut through the pressing darkness. He began speaking quite quickly and expounding upon them selective bits of the story regarding Archibald’s escape and what he knew of his present activities. Unbeknownst to the Duke, his captive audience was already aware of the situation.

All of this time, various valets and attendants kept rushing in and out, giving the Duke a pint of ale, setting up some wine should the Monavians want any, bringing the Duke his pocket watch (“Oh, dear me, it is quite late…”), bringing in some parchment and quills, taking the Duke’s spangenhelm, bringing him some more ale (for he drank the first pint in a mere two gulps), and taking away his pocket watch.

“…and as you can see,” continued the Duke, with geysers of the chilling condensation gushing forth from his throat as he spat out clumps of words at a time, “Lord Salisburgne-Doncaster [for this is the name by which he referred to Archibald] has indeed suspended all legal succession laws and now claims that, upon King William’s death, the Dominion throne is his alone.”

A figure slowly moved in to the room, waiting at the door until the last attendant departed, then closing it. Donned in a thick black cloak, the figure’s corpulent nose and wiry beard were the only facial features visible in the darkness. On the few instances when he neared Wallenheim’s flames, one could see just the rough, callous skin of his cheeks, but nothing more. He walked through the room in an aloof manner with the thuds of his slender black cane against the stone floor being dampened only by the rugs.

“This wizened fellow,” informed the Duke, “is my honourable associate, Manassès de Carcassonne. I know he appears quite the rogue, but, I can assure you, he is only noble in spirit.” Mr. Carcassonne acknowledged the Monavians by lifting his hand off of his cane and making a cryptic gesture with his unnaturally long fingers. A spout of condensation erupted from where his mouth was hidden by the darkness, and it would seem as if he had said “much obliged, your majesty,” although his voice was so low and hidden that it was difficult to tell. “He is fascinated by diplomatic intrigue,” continued Wallenheim’s introduction, “and insisted that he came with me once I told him that I would be meeting with the foreign delegation.”

Mr. Carcassonne continued in his aloof manner. He wandered throughout the room, stopping occasionally for several minutes at a time to look at the etchings in to the grandfather clock, or to peel back the curtains and look out upon the moonlit grounds, or to light the fireplace and watch the flames dance. It was unclear throughout any of this whether or not he was paying any attention to the conversation.

The Duke proceeded along with business. He took one of the documents that had been delivered in by a valet and spread it out along a coffee table. It was immediately recognized as the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII.

“I have already entertained fanciful rumours of my flight to the Valley of Aargau, Your Majesty, so, if you please, I shall let you know of the truth. I come here to-night with my mind under no duress nor thoughts of sedition, and yet it is with such fantasies that the King is currently detained, cowering in his wardrobe right now, sending telegraphs for an army regiment one-hundred-thousand strong.

“He has already signed the cachets for the arrest and execution of the deputies that imprisoned Lord Voronezh, that unfortunate soul who has been hurled to the dungeon for the acts of his chancellor. He does this all in attempts to appease me, not realizing that my true intentions are only benevolent.

“You, your Majesty, you, can end this meaningless terror here and now by applying your endorsement right down here.” One index finger convicted King Charles and the other fell to the bottom of the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII.

When King Charles saw what the Duke's proposal was, he stood aghast at the thought that Archibald could be causing so much trouble. He asked for a glass of sherry, and offered another glass to the Queen. He read through the text of LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII, and agreed that it may be prudent to sign it. He turned to the Duke, and asked for a quill pen and parchment.

He took three pieces of the parchment and wrote out some paper of obscure importance and necessity. After finishing the first copy, he took three more pieces of parchment and wrote a second copy. The first was in English, the second copy was written in Latin, the second official language of the Monavian Empire.

He gave the two copies to Vladimir, who placed them into an envelope, and instructed him to give them to King William in the morning. He had Vladimir read aloud the text of the documents that he had written to the King of Cotenshire. "This is important that you know of what may be happening here. I have contained here, the two hours work of our King, which by the grace and majesty of God he has endeavored to write."

"Contained here is an executive order sending the decree to Parliament for ratification by the Senate, which shall take effect upon the conclusion of the council.", Vladimir continued. The King spoke also, saying that things could not be so easy. "If you are not aware, my signature would not be valid under even the lightest of legal scrutiny if this was not passed by the Senate first. This would be unconstitutional to do so. However, as these events that come to pass become increasingly more torrid and dangerous to all involved, I do voice my intention of signing it if it is ratified."

He then motioned for Vladimir to read aloud what he had written. The text of the order said:

By the grace of God, the holy and divine, and with the authority of the Imperial Monarchy, it is hereby decreed by these presents that the document known heretofor as "LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII" is to be forwarded to the Senate for ratification by the body of the Senators.

It is further decreed that in light of the situation that jeopardises the Succession Law of the monarchy of Cotenshire, it is decreed that the Monavian Empire refuses to make any decree in favor of any succession law other that the one existing currently in Cotenshire.

It is also decreed that upon the conclusion of the council which has been determined to take place, this document herein named as "LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII" shall be protected from any legal scrutiny within the Monavian Empire.

This Proclamation hereby recognizes LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII as a decree of the King of Cotenshire. This document will be ratified through constitutional procedure and that way alone, and all other ways notwithstanding.

So it has been written by the authority of the King and Queen of Monavia, in our authority shall it be carried out.

Signed,

His Holy Imperial Majesty, Charles IX
Her Holy Imperial Majesty, Elizabeth VI

[insert seal]

With that, the King gave the envelope to Vladimir, who placed it in inside, and sealed it. "This is to be given to King William in the morning.", he said.

The Queen then spoke to Duke Wallenheim. "This is not as good as an official endorsement or signature, but it will secure this decree as valid and legal for the time being. I intend to sign it, but I am barred from doing so at the time by Imperial Law.", she said, with a very stern and irritated voice.

They then asked Vladimir to prepare their beds for them again, and to go put away the envelopes to be given to King William in the morning. They motioned the guests to leave for the night, and politely bade good night and farewell to Duke Wallenheim.

After they had gone back to bed, the three of them slept until eight thirty in the morning. Refreshed, they left for the banquet hall to have breakfast and morning tea with King William, and to present him with the Decrees.

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Hello?

(OOC: I'm sorry about the long delay. I don't have any new ideas for this RP, so unless you have any, we should probably start wrapping this up and agree on a conclusion.)

(OOC: I'm sorry about the long delay. I don't have any new ideas for this RP, so unless you have any, we should probably start wrapping this up and agree on a conclusion.)

Thanks for the tip. Also, thanks for coming back on.
Perhaps for ideas, think of having the actual conference start. Have King William show why Archibald is so bad. After the conference ends, I plan to RP having my delegation travel back to Monavia along with any dighnitaries that you may want to send over and propose the treaty to the Senate.

We can RP the rest from there.

After the previous night’s events, the King had a stern talking-to with Duke Wallenheim. After a couple hours, the Duke came out and issued a rather insincere sounding apology to the King for his intrusion and disrupting of the King’s guests during the previous night. Wallenheim, ashamed that he could not make himself be bold enough to confront the King with his grievances, retreated to the nearby hunting lodge and stayed there all day in a drunken stupor.

At about mid-morning, Lord Sebastien decided to see how the King was doing. He entered the Royal Chamber and was perturbed by how flustered and tense the King appeared. He had been in such a light, innocent mood the previous evening. “My liege, is there something wrong?”

The King sighed. “I am disappointed with the progress of our combat against Archibald. Everyone wants him captured, but no one wants to help. Duke Wallenheim refuses to budge a finger in search of Archibald, but then descends in to fits when I have to take inconvenient measures to curb my brother’s schemes. Then, after I try and strike a compromise with him, he assaults me for not adequately protecting the Dominion from Archibald’s plots. The nerve of that man is preposterous.”

“Wallenheim is a most precarious man,” admitted Sebastien. The King’s temper was flaring up to a point where the Lord Chancellor ordered a valet to go close the hall doors, fearing that the King my begin a loud tirade.

“And my dearest guests,” continued King William, “All they want to do is go hunting and visit the horse races. Do they not realise that we are undergoing a crisis? We must get down to business.”

Lord Sebastien knew that it was the King who suggested that they do all those leisurely activities for the past few days, but he did not feel like being contrary right now and therefore said nothing.

“Jan, my friend, I want you to sit down with our Monavian guests and explain to them that it is time for serious business. I expect that you will have a meeting arranged between myself and their King soon, preferably later today.”

“I will do my best, my liege.”

“And tell them that we can not go hunting today like originally planned. We must engage ourselves productively.”

“But of course.”

“If he resists, just be adamantine in your convictions and stress the importance of finding a resolution to the current predicament.”

“Yes, my liege, but I firmly believe he will acquiesce.”

Dinner began about an hour later, and, for the sake of expediency, Lord Sebastien decided to confront the Monavians with a plan. He hoped by presenting it in such a manner, he could easily get his way. The only open seat across from the Monavians was one next to Mr. Carcassonne. Lord Sebastien had solicited the withered old man earlier that morning for tea. He seemed to be a rather reserved man, although once one was acclimated to his disposition, he proved to be quite jovial.

“Ah, Lord Sebastien, I am not worthy of sitting next to you. You, sir, are a model among the officed gentry.” Mr. Carcassonne embraced Lord Sebastien and kissed his hand.

The dinner commenced and lasted until about one after noon. Before parting, Lord Sebastien confronted King Charles IX and Mr. Carter. “Sirs, I believe His Majesty is ready to begin the Conference. If it would not be a problem to you both, I would like you, Mr. Carter, to meet me in the Chancery Suite at three o’clock—”

“Lord Sebastien,” said Mr. Carcassonne, “If you will please excuse my interruption, but I could only do justice to you if I could amend your plans by informing you that the Chancery Suite is going to be occupied all day by Lord Ozergard and his retinue. Might I suggest the offices south of the Chancery Suite for your accommodations?”

“Why, yes, those would be perfect. Thank you, Mr. Carcassonne,” remarked Lord Sebastien. “Well then, Mr. Carter, I would like to meet with you in those offices mentioned by the esteemed Mr. Carcassonne. And, Your Majesty,” said he, now addressing King Charles, “King William would like to meet with you in the map room at the same time.”

Mr. Carcassonne had been igniting his pipe during this explanation. “Oh, diplomatic business. How wonderful, sir, that you are able to serve the King in this capacity. It is fortunate that we have ministers like you.”

At two-thirty in the afternoon, Mr. Carter promptly walked up to the Chancery Suite and waited for the arrival of Lord Sebastien. When he saw him coming through the hall, he turned around and walked with him to the south offices that Lord Sebastien had mentioned earlier. He sat down in a plush chair at one end of the room, and spoke with Lord Sebastien.

He began: "Dear Lord Sebastien, I understand how things have grown to more grievous proportions. I have told His Majesty the King that after the conference, he must bring the document to the Senate immediately. If the conference is short enough, the Treaty known as "LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII" will be ready for a Senate vote in one week."

"It is most likely that the Senate will ratify it, however, as we sit here speaking, Archibald may be becoming aware of our presence here and our intentions. If we do not act quickly, the crisis may escalate further. At the current time, I am hearing about an international Gala that is being held by another nation."

"This nation", he continued, "is known as the Empire of Neo-Ixania. We will also bring a copy of LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII to them as a proposal at a conference that they have consented to."

"Should they ratify it, their support would be a second dagger in the heart of Archibald and his malicious schemes, with ours being the first. His Majesty has told me that should the Senate ratify LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII, he will immediately sign it and pledge his full support to aid King William and the Cotenshirick Government in putting an end to Archibald and his plans."

After he paused to finish what he siad, Mr. Carter waited for Lord Sebastien to respond to his words.


Meanwhile in the Map Room, King Charles stood waiting for King William. When King William entered the room, He was heartily greeted and offered the best seat in the room. After everyone present sat down, the King spoke.

"As of this moment, I believe that this is the official start of the conference. As promised, we have brought the money to assist your intelligence services."

At that moment, a burly man in his forties and the manservant Vladimir each caried a case full of money. They set them down on a table and opened them up, showing all of the people in the room the contents. Inside was approximately 100 million Monavian Thalers.

"Besides these things, we have good news." the King added. "As Archibald is a wanted fugitive, we have no legal restrictions on helping your government capture him. His trail of chaos and destruction, along with any efforts to track him, should allow us a chance to bring his tirade to and end."

Vladimir then presented the King with a heavy package. "Send this to Lord Sebastien when he has finished meeting with Mr. Carter." he said. Vladimir then left the room and carried the package to the south office. The burly man then carried a package twice the weight of the first one, and set it down in front of King William.

As King William opened the package, he grew astonished. "As promised, we have brought your special gifts." Contained within was a bar of pure gold worth 100,000 Thalers. The King motioned for a group of butlers that had been brought along to come in the Map Room and deliver the other gifts to King William.

After all of the gifts had been brought in, the meeting began. The Queen, who had now entered, spoke first.

"If I may ask, why was Archibald imprisoned in the first place, and why is he so dangerous?" she asked with much gusto. "He is clearly a traitor, but what was his crime?" the King further added.

“Know, Mr. Carter, that I am deeply touched by your commitment and sincerity. His Majesty needs people like you during these times, people like you who provide stability and comfort. Your sense of duty to combat Archibald does just that, and I, on behalf of both myself and the King, thank you for it.

“Yes, we believe Archibald to be out there somewhere. What he schemes and what he plots, we do not know. The only thing we can do now is be vigilant. Such a conniving man as Archibald will not fall easily to our espionage, but we certainly shall not falter, for he may yet make a mistake.

“Your dedication to the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII is truly inspiring, and I would be delighted for you to bring it to the conference that you are attending. After all, promoting that document is second only to capturing Archibald himself as far as halting his schemes is concerned.”

Lord Sebastien did not know much about this “Empire of Neo-Ixania,” but he did know that it was not one of the King’s enemies, and therefore he doubted that it would have any motives to support Archibald against him.



“Oh, goodness!” exclaimed the King when he was presented with the money. “I am deeply grateful for this gift, sir. Do not worry yourself over its use. I shall personally see to it that all of this money goes to the location and arrest of that object of the Almighty’s scorn.”

At that moment there was a knock on the door. The valet opened the door after the King made a gesture that allowed him to do so. The knocker was Mr. Carcassonne. “My liege,” said the valet after hearing from Carcassonne, “This man found your dog lost in the halls and came here with it so that it may rest, since the beast was in a quite agitated state.”

The beast was a tiny Pomeranian named William. The King thanked Mr. Carcassonne for his service and bid him leave. The dog then sat at the foot of the King’s chair, issuing admonitions to King Charles’s servants in the form of high pitched barks as they passed. For the rest of the time, he sat growling at anyone near King William, or if no one was in a close enough proximity, at King William himself.

The gold bar was revealed with a delightful gasp from the King. “This is extraordinary, sir! A better gift I have never received!” The King groped the bar in fascination. “Oh, sir, you did too much! I shall have more gifts for you prepared than I had before, but I believe that nothing I exhume can scarcely match this!” The King summoned a valet to immediately take the gift to an appropriate display place. “It will make an excellent addition to my solid gold bar collection,” admitted the King.

In a fit of generosity, the King took out some parchment and began to write on and decorate it. Finally, he presented it to King Charles. “This, sir, is a promissory note of Cotenshirick currency that I would like you to have. It is the least I can do for the time.” The King handed the bill, which was labeled “£1 Trillion,” to King Charles. At the sight of this, the valet groaned and fainted.

That the King heard King Charles’s question about Archibald was miraculous, considering the level of growling, barking, and hissing perpetrated by William in response to the movement of the Monavian butlers. The King did not mind his pet’s antics in the slightest, however.

“Oh yes, there is no greater traitor than that slimy fiend, Archibald. The Devil himself is surely envious of such a villain. He is dangerous for the same reasons that every dangerous man is: he works against the good, Christian order of society.

“His villainy rose shortly after the termination of the life of my father, William IV. You see, my father was one of the most just and wise monarchs ever to rule any land. He had a total of six sons, with me being the first and Archibald being the second. I know my language against Archibald may sound malicious, but you can rest assured that it is completely justified. He never really acted according to what a prince should. He always seemed to me to be disinterested in the public during the many festivals my father held. Archibald had many suspicious relationships, such as with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Richard Cornhearst, who was a bloody usurer.”

The King stopped suddenly, and looked at Queen Elizabeth. “I am sorry if I seem to be burdening such a fair lady with such somber talk. Indeed, I must come across as very disturbing to the temperament of a woman. Might I soften the cruelty of this discussion’s edge with some tea?”

The valet had let himself out due to his fainting episode, so the King took it upon himself to pour the group some tea. There was not enough tea remaining for all three of them, however. To the King, who was growing tired of this room, this was the last straw. He opened the door and told a valet standing outside, “Call for us a coach.” He then motioned for the others to get up. “Come,” said he, “let us relieve ourselves of this depressing room. I would like to go sailing on the lake.”

After this had all gone down, the members of the Monavian delegation that had assembled in the Map Room got up from their seats and went out to the dock at the lake where the King’s boat was moored. The Queen commented much about the boat, as its dimensions and style were reminiscent of the older sailing ships of previous centuries.

Once all of the people boarded the boat, they gathered around for more tea that the valet had brought to the boat with him. King Charles stood at the bow, looking intently at the promissory note that had been entrusted to him. He pocketed it quietly and sat down on a very large wooden deck chair. The mahogany chair was built in the baroque style, and the ornate decorations made it almost like a work of art.

After the boat had cast off, the quiet and gentle breezes carried it to the other end of the lake, and soon the boat turned around after an hour’s voyage, and headed to another part of the lake. Sailing in such a fashion was indeed a pleasant experience for the Monavians, and they were soon lulled off to a state of near sleep by the peace and quiet.

After about three hours, a strong gust of wind brought back the King and Queen from their sleepy state, and they became at once engaged with observing the crew and the deft precision with which they handled the rigging and the sails.

King Charles then got up and moved to a seat opposite the King of Cotenshire. “If I may ask, what was Cotenshire like during the reign of William IV?” he inquired.

Meanwhile, in the south offices, where the Foreign Minister talked with Lord Sebastien, the manservant Vladimir arrived with the package. He gave it to Lord Sebastien, and as he read the message that was attached, he grew briefly puzzled. “This package is addressed to me.” He said with a slight air of amusement.

He subsequently opened up the package and looked upon the contents with a hearty look of pleasant surprise. Contained within was a second gold bar, much like the first one that had been presented to King William just minutes before, only it weighed half as much.

At the conclusion of the meeting between Lord Sebastien and Mr. Carter, the two of them left for their own places of business.

OUT OF CHARACTER: I replied to the thread "Mhoudia Begins Ethnic Cleansing of Christians".

Normally, Lake Aargau would be frozen over during this time of year, but King William had a fleet of icebreaker boats patrolling the lake’s western side at all times in case he had a spontaneous desire to go sailing. Such a whim occurred on this afternoon and the King and his guests met only a few chunks of ice floating among the calm waves.

Along the way to the wharf, the monarchs met with Sir Ripthorpe. The Reeve-in-Chief was quite bored, since there was no hunt on the grounds at that moment. “You are heading to the wharf, I see,” observed he. “Pray, let me come with you. I need something to alleviate my dreadful boredom, and I have not gone a-sailing in several months.”

The King agreed, and Sir Ripthorpe came with them.

The ship, the HMS William V (http://www.symaltesefalcon.com/photos/amoryross/AmoryRoss_MalteseFalcon_04.jpg), was, at nearly 300 feet long, a massive sailboat. Its huge size meant that there was minimal rocking when it hit the large ice chunks in the water.

King William’s utter lack of navigational knowledge did not prevent him from standing at the navigational panel and arbitrarily turning the wheel. Indeed, the King’s callousness was such that he did not realise the extent of his own ignorance, and he believed that he was masterfully navigating the ship.

“This land under my father was indeed almost as great, if not just as great, as it is today,” announced William V when he sat down with King Charles. “There was a great deal of game in the forest, as there is today. Hunting was much more dangerous back then, because there were many a behemoth living among the glaciers that would come down to our hunting grounds from time to time. They are still a threat, but their numbers, at least in this area, have dwindled.”

“Excuse me, your majesty,” interrupted Sir Ripthorpe, “But I doubt that our great guests know of the beast that we are talking about.” He turned to the Monavians. “My apologies if you do know what we are speaking of, but the behemoth only lives in the Dominion, so I would doubt that any foreigners would know about it.”

“Well, Sir Ripthorpe,” said King William, “Please impart your knowledge upon us, seeing as you are one of the foremost experts on the fauna of the land.”

“Very well. I thank you for your kind words, your majesty.” Sir Ripthorpe reached in to his cloak, and pulled out what looked to be some sort of ivory tusk, which was about a foot and a half in length. “I always keep this with me, as my encounter with this specimen has taught me to revere and respect the animals of the land. This here is a tooth from a female behemoth. Not its tusk or claw, but just a normal tooth. I could not weigh the beast after she was slain, for her corpse was covered in a great avalanche, but judging by the size of this tooth I would say she was around nine tons in weight.

“The behemoth is a giant, wooly carnivore that has no equal in any other land in size and ferocity, or at least not as far as I know. This particular one that I encountered was a brute. Her foreclaws were seven feet long and razor sharp. The behemoth uses these claws to carve dens into the glaciers up on the mountains. There it resides for most of the year, but when its food supply runs short, it must make a few trips down the mountain to find more. They are truly aggressive animals. It is common to hear of horrified peasants who have had their families devoured by a behemoth who came upon their house and leveled it by thrashing its mighty forearms. These beasts may seem clumsy when they walk on all fours, but when they sniff you out, they can sprint faster than your horse.

“After gorging itself by eating until its stomach and esophagus overflows, it carries more corpses by impaling them on its massive tusks, which are actually just overgrown teeth in the front of its mouth. Then, when it gets back up to its den, it regurgitates all of its slain victims before going back down the mountain for more hunting.

“The truly frightening thing about this beast is its aggressiveness. It actively hunts humans to the point of attacking peasant dwellings or even villages. The same claws that enable it to slice through glaciers also allow it to rip through the plate steel of tanks. Its hide is so thick and leathery that it is impervious to all forms of small arms fire and even many larger armaments. The best way to kill one is through venom.” Sir Ripthorpe pats the gun hanging from his belt that had no immediately recognizable purpose. It was now seen to be a dart gun. “No, the behemoth is not the deadliest creature in the Dominion. That would be the razorback. Still, you are as good as dead if—”

“Please, Sir Ripthorpe, that is quite enough,” pleaded the King. “If you have not noticed, there is a lady on board. She might become frightened.”

Sir Ripthorpe looked out over the waves. “Yes, I suppose you are right. But I was about to get to how they can swim.”

“Please, sir! Be quiet at once.” King William turned to the Monavians. “He jests, of course. There are no scientifically documented cases of a behemoth ever swimming.”

(OOC: I have read the Mhoudia thread, but I do not have time to adequately respond tonight, so I shall get to that tomorrow.)

Quite puzzled by the nature of such a ferocious beast and the state of its existance, King Charles sat silently in wonder. It was indeed known that there may be dangerous animals of many kinds in the foreign parts of the world, but such a terrible creature was unheard of outside of the Dominion. It was only natural that King Charles had many questions.

"How, if I may ask, do these creatures come to live in this Dominion, and how many are there?" he asked nonchalantly. He also spoke about the possibility of taking a dead beast to a taxidermist and having it stuffed for display in a museum.

They sailing boat gradually traversed the course of the lake, first toward the north end and then turned to the west. As King William circled around to approach the east end, a sudden gale blew a small table over. Despite such a trifiling matter of misfortune, there were thoughts of worse things within the mind of the King.

As the sun slowly sank towards the horizon, King Charles has a final question for Sir Ripthorpe. "Can you tell me about what the razorback is?" he curiously inquired.

The King stood up and walked below deck to help himself to a glass of wine.

“I have no idea how many of these beasts exist,” admitted Sir Ripthorpe, “But there are certainly fewer than there used to be. There recently was a museum up in the northwest that had a dead behemoth displayed, but the townspeople felt having it there was a bad omen. A mob stormed the museum, burned the display, and lynched the museum curators. That was the only publicly displayed behemoth corpse I have ever heard of, although I know there are others in existence at various universities.”

At the mention of the razorback, the crew members and attendants were visibly disturbed, and many quickly vacated the area.

“Ho ho! The razorback. Your Majesty,” said Sir Ripthorpe, turning to King William, “If the queen could not handle the behemoth, what chance has she with this?”

“None. Please, sir! Do not be so vivid in your descriptions, that is, if they must know at all.”

“Any harm done by discussing this matter is reconciled by knowledge gained,” said Sir Ripthorpe.

At this point, the captain of the ship intervened. “Sir, I beg of you, let it wait until we dock in a few minutes. You are being quite reckless in your discourse. I want my ship to be blessed and my men to not mutiny.”

“Very well.”

Once the ship had been tied up at the dock and the group had exited the ship, Sir Ripthorpe launched into his explanation. “The razorback is surely the most terrible fiend ever spat out by hell. Unlike the behemoth, I have never encountered one of these. If I had, I certainly would not be here relating the experience to you.

“Let me make it clear that I am not sure what exactly the razorback is. I would guess it is like a wasp, although it is far departed from any wasp I have ever seen. For one, it is much larger. Most have wingspans of around four feet. They also have two features aligned down the middle of their bodies that are much like buzz saws. Razorback swarms can number over 300 individuals. They also fly quite fast. In many of their clashes with helicopter squadrons, they have flown around 130 miles per hour.

“They are colloquially known as ‘thumpers.’ I have heard that this is because of a noise that is heard during their attacks. When they descend upon a village, a few people make it inside to prolong their lives for a few more seconds. They are treated to a thumping noise caused by the decapitated heads of the unfortunate ones outside being thrown against the wall.

“Apparently the devil decided that they were not psychotically lethal enough, and therefore gave them the most lethal venom of any known creature. If a miniscule amount so much as touches your skin, you only have a few minutes to live.

“I have an associate at the University of Rockham who told me that these creatures had killed over eighteen million people last year. We have tried to eradicate them, but when there is an engagement between a swarm and a helicopter squadron, too often the razorbacks win. They use complex formations that trick even our best pilots, and the helicopter’s armor might as well be tissue paper against the razorback’s ‘buzz saw’ augments.

“The razorback’s carapace also makes killing it with small arms a nearly impossible feat. We have been experimenting with using flamethrowers, which have been somewhat more successful. They are, however, still too inefficient and expensive, and we can only fend off a swarm with them about half of the time. The only thing keeping the razorback population in check is infighting between rival swarms.”

The King interrupted: “Sir Ripthorpe, you enjoy telling them about this terrible creature, do you not?”

“I will admit that I do. I thought you would admire my knowledge on this subject, Your Majesty. This is what you hired me for, after all.”

“You are a most competent Reeve,” noted the King as they climbed back in to the coach, while Sir Ripthorpe mounted his horse.

(OOC: Unless you have any ideas for furthering this RP, I am out of ideas and would like to wrap this up. If you still want to do it, I could then send a delegation to your country.)

Once the boat had been docked, the delegation filed off of it and onto the dock. Worried about how the effects of such creatures could cause harrm to the people of Cotenshire, the King took out an old pen and a scrap of paper. He stood busily writing down what Sir Ripthorpe had said, and pocketed it.

The group preceded to the royal Residence and had a small dinner and even more tea. At dinner, there was a discussion about the realm and its current state of affairs. the Queen commented about how insuring the stability of Cotenshire would be essential for maintaining a stable international community.

Things did not stay in the best of ways for long, despite the gaity and joy of the company that had asssembled in the dining hall. The Queen's personal servant, Vladimir, had brought in some bad news.

"I have a letter for King William, concerning some thing that has happened." He gave King William the letter that Robert D. Farrington had written. [OUT OF CHARACTER: this is the letter that was sent to you concerning the Mhoudia genocide.] King william opened the letter, read it, and calmly responded that the Monavians were most likely to be kept safe in Cotenshire.

Once the guests had turned in for the night, they all enjoyed a long and restful sleep. In the morning, they all awoke and breakfasted, then proceeded to arrabge for the items that they brought over to be packed up.

Queen Elizabeth spoke briefly to King William. "We must be leaving soon this afternoon, however, we have a few final things to do first. We are taking the treaty LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII to Monavia to be submitted to the Senate for a vote. Should it pass, it will be promptly signed with great fanfare."

"I personally wish that you come to Monavia with us and bring along a delegation for the time being. We can then have a chance to ensure the integrety of the realm and keep Archibald from executing his devious plan. Should we succeed, Cotenshire will be safe from his evils for at least a while."

After finishing her short diologue with King William, she proceeded to travel toward the plane for its flight preparations. The plane was prepared by three o'clock in the afternoon and was ready to take off in one hour.

As King William lingered behind, the thought of traveling to Monavia to watch the posible signing of LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII and stopping Archibald once and for all crossed his mind...

Bump.

That morning, Lord Sebastien had tea with the Monavians. He entered the silver parlour with a large bundle of letters that had yet to be opened and claimed that he had received all of these in the past few days, when he had been too busy to read them.

“It is not your fault at all that I am behind on my work,” remarked he. “I have just not managed my time well.”

He had been seated near the table for only a few minutes when Abbot Hugues de Baviers walked in to see if the King was having tea as well.

“I am afraid the royal personage does not grace us by its presence at this moment,” answered Lord Sebastien.

“Oh, that is too bad,” sighed the Abbot, “Because I have encountered a most pressing matter, and I would have appreciated his counsel. I respect his knowledge quite highly.”

“If it is his knowledge you seek, then look no further. I am, after all, one of his chief advisors,” said Lord Sebastien.

“Of course, my lord, I am aware of that. And I would sincerely be honoured by embracing your wisdom. You see, the villagers to the south have been immersed in a violent dispute. My bailiff informs me that one side claims the horse to be a superior plow animal to the ox, but the other side favours oxen over horses for that very task. The villagers would like me to arbitrate on this issue, but I cultivate the spiritual realm, not this temporal one.”

“Pray forgive me for treading on this issue,” said Lord Sebastien, “but it is quite silly. Tell them that those who want their tracts plowed by horses shall have their tracts plowed by horses, and oxen those who favour oxen. They surely have enough animals to undertake their plowing in this manner.”

“An ingenious solution indeed, sir. Just as I would have expected from you. There will be both oxen and horses in front of the plows when the fields are broken this spring,” announced the Abbot triumphantly. Having reached this conclusion, the Abbot grew thirsty. “My lord, I see that you have tea, but does His Majesty have that coffee that so dearly tickles my tongue?”

“I am sure he does. There is a pantry where the majordormo found this tea down the southern arcade. I am sure you can find the coffee you like there.”

“Thank you, sir. I wish you a bright day.”

A few minutes after the Abbot left, the King entered. Lord Sebastien told him of the Abbot’s decision. “Well,” said the King, “Your opinion, Jan, is sound enough, although I personally prefer horses. They are by far the nobler of the two animals.”

It was then that the Queen told King William of her desire for him to visit Monavia. The King let out a booming laugh. “Of course, my fair lady! Nothing will make me happier than to embark on a state visit to your country. I shall begin writing letters of invitation immediately, for I do not want to go alone.”

The King left quickly. Before the Monavians could also adjourn to make preparations for their departure, Lord Sebastien had one more thing to say. Reminded by the brief visit of King William’s, he said: “I have heard that the King has given you a £1 Trillion bill. I—well—the King, bless his heart, is an excellent leader of our state, and it has prospered greatly under him. He has instituted many reforms, although I feel, and my feelings are reaffirmed by his action, that he does not completely grasp the workings of our new monetary system. He can not write out bills for extraordinary amounts like he did before you. I am sorry, but I must ask for it back so that I may properly dispose of it.”

"Well, the bill is indeed a mighty gift. I thank King William for it and understand that there are some issues with your national politics. I just woner about what the monetary situation is that makes this so important." King Charles said, with some degree of curiousity.

He glanced briefly at the £1 Trillion bill and gave it to Lord Sebastien.

A courier later informed King William of the fact that accomodations were being prepared for the case in which he would accept the offer to travel to Monavia. "Rooms are being readied, places are being prepared, and the nation awaits your decision." he said.

A written invitation was later sent to King William. It read:

To His Majesty King William V Salisbury of the Salisbrugic Dominion of Cotenshire, the honor of his presence has been requested by King Charles and Queen Elizabeth of the Monavian Empire to attend a diplomatic visit to their country.

The generousity and good will of King William merits this invitation to attend a formal ball and state dinner at the Royal Palace in Chalcedon. Thge pleasure of his company is most appreciated.

Once the invitation was sent out, the Mo0navian delegation was preparing to leave. It had been a fruitful act of good will and international diplomacy to hold this conference, and now its effects would soon come to fruitition.

To the Most Honourable Prime Minister Carter,

His Majesty will enthusiastically attend this ball. It is the least that he can do for such saintly figures as your monarchs, who surely shall be the saviours of the House Salisbury once the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII is signed. His only wish is to find out when such a ball will be held, as he can hardly wait.

Signed,
The Rt Hon Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor,

The ball will be held in eight days. The state dinner is expected to take place afterwards. The ball begins at three thirty in the afternoon. The state dinner begins at seven thirty. It takes about four days to reach Monavia from Cotenshire.

Chancellor Richard Hanover II, Prime Minister Thomas Vanderbilt, and other ministers will be present at the ball. Foreign dignataries are invited as well.

Your servant,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

To the Right Honourable Frank Carter,

His Majesty is thrilled that the ball will be held so soon and he looks forward to the festivities and meeting these dignitaries of stately renown. He has decided that he will leave early tomorrow so that he can arrive three days before the ball begins. His retinue will consist of about 90 prominent persons in the Dominion, mostly tenants-in-chief and members of the royal court. I shall be one of those in attendance, and I am personally just as excited as the king.

Signed,
The Rt Hon Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor,

Space is being prepared for all of the guests. Any special requests should be forwarded to the chief Chamberlain of the Royal Palace. Approximately forty rooms are ready for the guests, and another forty rooms are being prepared at a hotel nearby.

The Ball and state dinner will be held at the palace banquet hall. More details will be given shortly.

Sincerely,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

To the Most Generous Right Honourable Frank Carter,

I am truly obliged to you for making us such welcome guests in your state. I am also grateful for the hard work you have put in both your preparations for our visit and in your conduct at our conference. Of course, I expected as much from a skilled diplomat such as you.

One minor issue, however, I should bring up. If His Majesty was not coming to Monavia, I would not bother mentioning such a trivial issue, and I hope it is not too disagreeable to you that I do.

I noted that you said 40 rooms would be prepared for us in the palace, and 40 in a hotel. I am sure that these rooms are only of the highest quality, but there appears to be an error by one of our pens in some stage of our communication. There will be a total of 90 persons attending, including the King, his two sons, and myself. As you can see, there is an obvious error here.

I would certainly not blame you for this triviality, as I make many printing errors in the hundreds of letters I write each day. I probably wrote ‘80’ instead of ’90,’ and for this I apologise. It is not expected that you shall make extra arrangements and accommodations because of this grievous mistake of mine.

Again, I wish to stress that, if His Majesty was not involved, I would not even mention this to you. However, His Majesty values deeply the relationship between his vassals and him, and such is the prestige of those guests that they expect to be treated with equality.

I know that they will say that they understand this was just a mistake of mine and will tell you that it is okay, but His Majesty would be worried that they would hold grudges that will remain unspoken. I have not told His Majesty about this yet, for I do not feel we should tell him about this bothersome issue if it is possible that it can be resolved without his knowing of it.

I do not expect you to shift your plans and kick others out of their rooms for us, but if it is possible to mend the repercussions of this lapse of mine, then I would be deeply indebted to you.

I am sorry for sullying such a joyous occasion with troublesome preparatory issues and this in no way detracts from my enthusiasm for this diplomatic visit. Know, dear sir, that you can always count on me, both in business and casual deportment, to express the professionalism of our diplomatic discipline to the best of my ability.

I do not wish to harp on this any further. I am delighted to the highest degree that I will be able to engage in this ball. Such events are indeed the highlights of our mutual career. Know, however, that my jocund abandon will not interfere with my diplomatic sense and that my first priority will always remain that our two states be brought closer together in that chain of cooperation that has hitherto advanced the nations of the Earth.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor,

I am most satisfied and content with your prudence. It is indeed an important thing to mention to you, in this case, that more rooms in a second hotel will be prepared for the coming guests. The second hotel is a mile from the first one. Travel plans will be sent with this message to you.

There is an airport in the city that will provide services and landing space for any planes that may be landing at Chalcedon. The airport is very busy, but should have available space for all of the needed aircraft and guests.

As for the issue of the shortage of rooms, the situation has been rectified, and the eighty original rooms have been fully prepared, with fifteen more being readied at the time of the writing of this letter.

I find it to be most wonderful that the King's two sons will be present. Whether the Queen (or Queen Consort, depending on the laws and customs of the Dominion) will be attending is left up to you to explain. Transportation from the airport to the hotel will be arranged. A motorcade is reserved for the King and his two sons, as well as yourself.

The relationship between our two nations remains unsullied, and should continue to bear good fruit in the future. I have just arrived back in Monavia, and will be enjoying a long rest soon. The measure LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII has been sent today to the Senate for a vote, and the vote will take place in two days after a review process.

It is hopeful that it will pass the vote.

Again, your courtesy and commitment to furthering the good state of affairs between the Salisbrugic Dominion of Cotenshire and the Monavian Empire is most appreciated and enjoyed by many.

Signed,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

To the Most Honourable Rt Hon. Mr. Carter,

I sincerely thank you for your understanding. Your logistical capacity for organising this diplomatic event continues to amaze me. I must say that I have never seen another diplomat during the whole of my career that has such a complete and versatile repertoire as you. But do not think me as naïve. Before I had even met you, I had no doubt that your skills would be considerable, since only those of great merit attain the highest diplomatic post in a properly run state such as yours.

We are bringing 27 planes as of now. One is a large craft full of gifts for the Royal Family. The others are normal jet craft, however, and none are of inordinate size, so I hope there will be no storage issues.

About the Queen (and yes, she is technically the Queen Consort, although the latter word is typically dropped), she is staying in the Dominion for management reasons. I will be the first to admit that the realm is not exactly in fine working order. I would be lying if I was to blame this completely on the Archibald frenzy, although it certainly does contribute its fair share. The tenants are becoming restless for what they see is encroachment by the King on their privileges (and they really are privileges, not rights, contrary to what many of them say). The Queen must stay to manage the realm due to the sheer volume of petitions and complaints that are brought before the court every day. Wallenheim’s failure to have his redresses recognised only served to anger the tenants more, instead of causing them to back down as we hoped they would.

I will be completely honest with you, sir, as is my duty. If His Majesty was to die today, most of the vassals of the realm would gather under the banner of Archibald. Peter, his heir, is seen as haughty and indifferent, when in actuality he is quite saintly, and his perceived haughtiness has just come out of his intolerance for the incompetence of the majority of the tenants. Why they support Archibald, I have no idea. I suppose they just do not realise how horrible that fiend is. Do they not remember his betrayal? But I digress, and I am afraid my expounding on this issue may ruin the mood of this festive time.

Please, do not let our situation overly concern you. I am working quite hard, and so is His Majesty, to extinguish this woeful ignorance. We have worked through situations much worse than this, such as the great famine of 2000. Let us just focus on strengthening our ties at this ball.

It is indeed wonderful that we have this opportunity to work together, and I once again must state the enormous debt that I owe you. This signature of the LEX SALISBURGIUS REGNUM XXVII by your monarchs might be the bulwark that shows His Majesty’s uncomfortable vassals the strength of their King.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor,

I express the utmost of respect for you and I receive your flattering compliments with much thanks. I believe that Cotenshire has very skilled and noble politicians such asd yourself and I extend my thanks for allowing the conference to take place to all involved in the planning and preparation of the conference.

The runway at the airport is approximately 15,000 feet (or about 4,500 meters) long, so landing the planes will not be a problem, as there is sufficient space for a proper landing to take place.

It is regretful that the Queen is unable to attend due to the more depressing and dismal matters of state that plague your society, but I believe that a firm and unwavering leader, one like King William, may be able to stem the tide of disloyalty and discontent, and ensure the peace, stability, and integrity of the realm. He may be able to turn back the troubles that you have come to bear, and I have the greatest of confidence in his leadership.

I likewise commend you for your educated and articulate examples of leadership and your firm support of the idea that LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII must be sifgned and upheld. I would expect nothing less from such an well taught and trained individual as yourself.

It is further regretful that the vassals of the realm would be so disloyal. Even though loyalty may no longer be the currency of the realm, the fact still stands that Archibald must be stopped. As of the present time, the Monavian Empire is seeking diplomatic contact with foreign nations, which may potentially be signatories to LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII.

I send the best of wishes to you and your family for the approaching New Year.

Signed,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Bump.

To the Most Esteemed Rt Hon. Mr. Carter,

I thank you from the depths of my heart for your good wishes for this New Year. I share the same hope for your New Year, and hopefully this year will bring even more prosperity.

Our journey to your land is underway, and we hope to arrive soon.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

The last of the preparations for the ball and state dinner were being put in place. Meanwhile, the treaty had been proposed to the Senate in a remarkable show of ceremony and pomp. The palace and hotels were filled with life and much activity, while the Senate deliberated. The vote was scheduled for January 5, 2008, at 10:00 A.M.

During the deliberations, the topic of how the treaty would be discussed was brought up. The majority of Senators were not experienced with treaties and international agreements, as they had not had a major international event of this nature in over twenty years.

As the treaty was discussed, an important question was brought to the attention of the entire Senate. The issue was that if Archibald was a cause of any trouble to Monavia, the actions that were to be taken would have to be appropriate to the situation, therefore, the question of what actions would need to be taken was brought up.

Chancellor Richard Hanover II presided over a long and protracted debate. In the end, it was decided that the treaty would be prepared for a floor vote the next day. Mr. Carter was filled in about the proceedings, and wrote a response to the Lord Chancellor of Cotenshire.

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor,

The accommodations have been fully prepared and we await your arrival. The palace staff are overjoyed at the thought of having a foreign monarch and his family visit the Empire. I personally thank you for accepting this invitation.

In regard to the treaty, LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII, the proposal was sent to the Senate, and after much deliberation and discussion, it has been prepared for a floor vote, which will take place tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning. After the floor vote, it will be decided what to do next.

Should the bill pass, which is most likely, then it will be up to the King and Queen to decide whether to sign it or veto it. They have voiced their approval in the past, and most certainly voice it again.

I bid you a safe and eventful journey.

Signed,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

To the Right Honourable Mr. Carter,

It is most excellent to see that the approval process is underway in a legal manner. I have full confidence in your Senate to make the right decision.

I have found out that more than the originally planned 90 will be arriving for the ball. Several of those invited by King William took the liberty of inviting their own guests, and I have learned that due to this there will be an additional 44 showing up at the ball. I have found this out through various correspondences since leaving the Dominion, and I am truly sorry for burdening you this much. His Majesty is also quite displeased with their actions, and has told me that he would force them to leave if you do not want them to come. I myself am in favour of making them find their own lodgings if those provided for us are not enough for all the visitors.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

The floor vote took place as scheduled, and the results were tabulated within half an hour. Of the 119 Senators present, 104 voted in favor of LEX SALISBRUGIS REGNUM XXVII, while nine voted against it and six abstained. As 119 was above the required seven tenths needed to ratify a treaty, the bill was sent to the King and Queen.

Upon receiving the news of the vote, Mr. Carter sent a letter to King William and Lord Chancellor Sebastien. He saved a copy in a file folder in a steel cabinet.

The letter was as follows:

To His Majesty King William V Salisbury of Cotenshire and Lord Chancellor Jan Sebastien,

The hotel and the palace have been readied for your arrival. As more guests have wished to come, a second hotel has been placed in order for the coming guests. Thirty-three rooms have been fully prepared, and the lastof the rooms will be ready in the morning.

The treaty was passed by the Senate with overwhealming support, though a very small portion abstained from the vote and a few voted against the bill. The treaty has been forwarded to the King and Queen to be ratified on the seventh. I believe that you will arrive safely tomorrow, hopefully in time for morning tea with me and the other Ministers at the palace.

We have received no further news of the ongoing activities of Archibald, although we will be willing to send spies and intelligence operatives to search for him. For the meantime, I will stick to having a pleasant day and working to assist in the signing of the treaty.

Signed,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Frank Carter

To the Most Esteemed Rt Hon. Frank Carter,

The accommodations you have made to our mistakes are honourable to the extreme. You, sir, are a true workhorse, and I am most gracious for this opportunity to work with you.

That the charter has finally passed through your senate greatly comforts us. We never doubted your sincerity, although to finally have it officially approved is a great burden off of our shoulders and hopefully on to those of Archibald.

We are making our way quickly, since our pilots and crew have been efficient. We should be arriving on the time I had prescribed. If I find out about any further encumbrances, I shall let you know.

Signed,
The Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien, Lord Chancellor

[OOC: Is this ball going to be a separate thread open to other countries besides ours? Also, I went ahead and put your King, Queen, and Mr. Carter’s signature on the charter. If would prefer them in a different format, tell me.]

OUT OF CHARACTER:

The ball and state dinner will be a separate thread. I will make one today. As for the signing, it officially takes place January 7 [NS time] and is a public televised affair. It will be RPd in the new thread. Thanks for putting the signatures on in advance.

IN CHARACTER:

Mr. Carter looked at the letter that he had just received. The Cotenshirick delegation was due any minute now, and in a few hours time, they would enjoy themselves greatly.

Mr. Carter sent a fax letter on behalf of the King and Queen. It read:

To the Right Honorable Jan Sebastien and His Majesty King William,

The treaty has been give a high level of priority. It will be signed shortly after you arrive. It will be a televised event, marking the first international treaty between Monavia and a foreign power in over twenty years. Good luck on your landing.

Signed on behalf of their Majesties the King and Queen,

[insert seal]

The letter was faxed in the early morning.

The new thread is titled "Royal Ball and State Dinner in Monavia".