Larxia

May 3, 1420
6:45 AM Over Time
A day after Waholi sent out the call, generals of the monarchist cause gathered at the central headquarters to discuss the future of the war. Waholi is the highest ranking general there and is the de facto leader of the faction until they find Atsil. Their main concerns that they are going to address are Atsil’s location, the bombing of Zoradia, organization of the government until they find Atsil, and plans for the offensive.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for heading my call. The war has begun and already there has been a tragedy. The bombing of Zorardia, which is still going on, is a waste of resources and a tragedy for all Zoranians. For now we cannot do much, all we can do is stay away from the city. But we have another pressing matter that we need to address.” He directs everyone’s attention to a tv screen he has on a stand that shows the video of Atsil being escorted away by CGZ.
“Atsil Ani’-Wah’, the current head of the Ani’-Wah’ family and the person we, along with a majority of the people who support our cause, believe should rule the country as queen, is currently in an unknown location. CGZ’s ‘mythical’ and illusive hideout is where she is most likely located but no one knows its location. We have tried scouts, intelligence, tracking, etc. to try and locate her to no avail. So I had no choice but to look towards a more supernatural means of locating her.” One of the generals, General Nilesa, chuckled at this,
“Waholi, I didn’t take you for a spiritual man. I know you are religious but I didn’t take you to be the person who would turn to something so unrealistic.” Waholi looked at them with a stern gaze before they spoke,
“Neither did I until we ran into a dead end. I had no choice but to accept the assistance of the Saint Markian seers in locating her.” The whole room burst into laughter until another general spoke,
“With all due respect sir, resorting solely on something as ‘mystical’ as seers does not seem to inspire much confidence in us.” Waholi nodded in an understanding manner,
“While I understand that sentiment, we have no choice. Tell me, has any of you found a lead that would let us find Atsil?” The laughter died down as the question was asked and all the generals sat in silence and with slight embarrassment at the fact that they had no better lead on the whereabouts of Atsil.
“Exactly as I thought,” said Waholi with a smirk on his face, “according to the Saint Markan seers, Atsil is not in danger with CGZ, in fact she plans on leaving from hiding soon. But she is in danger from the ‘basket weaver’s son,’ whoever that is. So there is a chance Atsil is coming out of hiding but we cannot be certain on that. If she does come back then we must be ready to protect her and bring her here. I believe everyone knows the procedure that should occur.” The generals in the room nodded, all of them knew what they must do if Atsil is found, they will do as much as they can to be sure she is safe and that she is with them.
“Good, keep your men on the lookout and tell your scouting parties to keep their eyes peeled for any signs of her return. Now, we must get onto the issue of the actual government organization until she returns.” Waholi then pulled out a manilla folder with documents detailing how the provisional government would run.
“I suggest that we let the people have a voice in our affairs too. But, we cannot let them have a voice in sensitive issues that require secrecy. So we have them send representatives to a public building where they can make some decisions until we get Atsil here to form an official government.”
“But sir,” said a younger general, General Quvmate, “why are we letting Atsil form the new government entirely? Sure we want her to be queen but that seems like a bit of an odd idea to me.” His comment was followed by a few agreeing nods in the room,
“Well, Atsil has been studying political sciences in university. She also has experience through the internship she was doing under her father before this mess started. She is also a bright woman whose actions remind me of her father. While my faith in her is somewhat based on the idea that she might be like her father, I still firmly believe that it should be up to the future queen to create the government. We are all just men and women who know of military strategy, with a basic understanding of politics. That is why we form a provisional government with civilian representation to help legislate and make decisions while we deal with the conflict. What we need to do is send people to different parts of the country that we control and spread word to vote on a representative for the Zoranians in that district. From there we can have some order and support from the people while also providing services to those in need. Does anyone have any objections to this idea?”
The room was quiet as the generals looked at each other to see their reaction to this plan. None of them had any better ideas so they did not object to this plan. All of them knew that they could not win a war without support from the people and as the most popular faction in this war, they had to ensure that they take care of the people and build further support in the country. With no objections Waholi nodded before bringing up a map of the country on the screen.
“Now we must discuss our plan for the war. I believe that our biggest threat is the Corporates. After the Divine Shaman’s denouncement of the religious fanatics they will lose any support that they possibly had and will collapse within a few months. The GDC is disorganized, corrupt, and wasting resources on the bombing of Zoradia. So the corporates are our biggest adversary. Should the theocrats collapse, I believe that the corporates will take control of the province to the east. I say we prevent them from having a connected territory on the northern island in advance by attempting to take the province they control to the south. We already have men in the territory we control on the southern border of that province so we can attack them on two fronts.” Waholi said as he pointed at the provinces he was referring to with a stick.
“What about the two theocratic provinces to the southwest of one of our northernmost provinces? If the theocrats collapse as you say then shouldn’t we send men there to secure control as soon as possible?” said General Quvmate.
“Yes, in fact I will let you lead the offensive on those two provinces. Make sure to avoid civilian casualties as often as possible.” said Waholi. The generals further discussed their plans for the war.

Larxia will only participate this time.
 

Signups and OOC
Welcome to the 1st World Cup of Football for TWP and its nations as we bring the most popular sport in the world right here in our forums! For those that have been participants of previous sports roleplay (the Rugby World Cups, the College Football games, and the 1st Summer Olympics, among others), then you know there will be something like this. For those that have not, don't you worry!
To enter the 1st World Cup of Football, just add a reply to this topic by saying "I want to sign up for the 1st World Cup of Football", or anything along the lines there. Though, same with the RMB, we won't allow double posting (except for me to post my intentions in signing up ). You can always edit your reply at any given time how many times you want. Also, this thread is for signups and OOC (out of context) posts, like questions about the tournament. If you don't like asking questions here, you can ask them in #world_cup_2021 in our RP Discord server or message me there directly. The IC (in context) thread where we will be posting our nations' team information (players, kits, logo, anything related to such), roleplay (preparations, match day events), and results will be separate and shall have the link be announced in Discord or can be viewed here in our forums starting 2/19/2021.
Also, I will be scorinating this tournament, but if you want your country to host the 1st World Cup of Football IC, signify the same in your reply for signing up (only if you have a place in the map). A little bit of something new from the previous versions of role play, we will be assigning responsibilities for the nation that will host this World Cup (to be selected on 2/19/2021, announced on 2/20/2021). Prepare at least four (4) stadiums (with seat capacity, if available) in cities in your country. Additional responsibilities are given in the Discord post about this one and more will be discussed upon your selection.
Bids for hosting will be accepted until 2/17/2021 at 8 PM ET, while signups will close on 2/18/2021 at 8 PM ET.
That's all for now. Confused about how we will be doing this? New with scorinating? Taking a page from Resu's book, read below.
 
Nations signed up:
Nations who entered bids to host:
 

May 2, 1420
An Official Letter from the Divine Shaman to the People
To the People of Zoran,
Dear children of the Spirit, these are turbulent times for our people. We have not seen conflict like this since the Great Spirit War when Gawonii the Heretic divided our people, but times have changed much since then. We are no longer individual tribes who were divided over beliefs, rather we are now one state, one tribe, one family. This isn’t conflict between tribes, this is conflict within a family! We must not forget the words of Adanvdo and the teachings of the Spirit during these times.
But as many of you are aware, there are those that claim I should lead our people in a temporal role as well as a religious one. Do not believe these claims, for I wish no such thing. I am simply a spiritual guide, not a head of state. Those who claim such things are fanatics, those who misunderstand the teachings of Adanvdo and the word of the Spirit! All those that are part of these fanatics must realize the error of their ways and lay down their arms to prevent further bloodshed. I condemn these fanatics for their actions and their claims. I do not wish to rule this country, I am only a guide in the ways of the faith. All shamans who are part of these fanatics are to be considered shamans no more unless they repent before me.
May there be peace in the land once more. Let us all pray for those lives who have been lost in the bombing of Zoradia and those who have died in this conflict so far. Let the Spirit guide us all.
-Divine Shaman Oochalata

The Royal Charity
By:Jacob Smith
New Larxia- King Maddy IV, on Thursday, announced the establishment of a charitable mission, Hope Spades Organisation.
The main mission of this organisation is to help patients who cannot afford the healthcare services of Larxia. Though the healthcare services are not so expensive, there are always people in need of help.
The King stated that this will be a non-profit organisation, so that it can focus only on helping patients, and not on turning a profit.
The Organisation will collaborate with many of Larxia's top hospitals with the state-of-the-art technologies and the cost of treatment that comes along with it.
How will they collaborate?
There will be a branch of the organisation in every partner hospital, with the organisation having direct access to the patients, so no money is lost in all the bureaucracy.
The organisation will of course be open to donations from the people who can afford to and choose to make any kind of contribution to this mission.
 The King will be investing his personal wealth in this venture, and nothing will be taken from the government coffers until the Parliament decides to support the organisation.
Ms. Mackenzie Becker will lead this organisation to a future full of helpfulness. Considering her influence in Larxia before her engagement to the King was announced and the fact that she would be our future queen, choosing her to head this organisation was a good choice.
How can you help?
You can volunteer for the organisation in Social Media Management, On-field Assessment, and many more ways.
Just visit the website, www.hopespades.org, and you will be able to see what they are doing, and if you like, you can donate to the cause, or also volunteer for the organisation.
Another announcement that King Maddy IV made was that the organisation will try to expand to other countries as well in the near future because they have been receiving donations from some other counties in TWP as well and it would only be fair to work with their hospitals too, because as much as we strive for the betterment of Larxia, we also strive for the betterment of the World as a whole. 

Mother Angelica, Lady Abbess of The Order of Saint Clare, climbed the winding staircase to the Light Chamber. Her cheerful countenance belied the sharp pain in her back and knees with each step. Normally, if she had wanted to speak with her Sisters, she would have received them in her own office, but as these three were Sisters of The Mind and had just recently returned from Trance, they were still too weak to accommodate her. The Holy Hierophant himself had asked her to receive their report … so up the stairs it must be.
Many centuries ago, in the Age of Mystics, The Seers, as the Sisters of The Mind were called then, were wild, living in caves and unattached to any specific service to God. Since shortly after The Founding, however, they have been attached to The Faith, first as part of a separate Order and later under the protection of The Order of Saint Clare. Their special gifts had been used many times to guide The Faith as well as the Principality.
At the top, Mother Angelica paused outside of the small wooden door to catch her breath. After a brief prayer to Saint Agatha for healing, she tapped softly at the door. Mary Katherine, the young postulant attending the three Sisters, answered, bowed her head, and silently showed the Lady Abbess in.
The three Sisters of The Mind were propped up in their beds. Two sipped tea, while the third had her head back and her eyes closed with a cold cloth on her forehead. The two put aside their cups and the third opened her eyes and removed the cloth when she entered. “Blessings to you, Reverend Mother,” they greeted in unison.
“Blessings also unto you,” she replied. “I pray you are not too exhausted for my visit?”
“God is our strength, Reverend Mother. We are ready to serve.”
“The Faith values your use of your gifts in our service.” The Abbess seated herself on a cushioned stool and Mary Katherine brought her a cup of tea. “What have your visions told you about the poor Zoran heiress, Atsil?” she asked.
The one whose eyes had been closed answered. “The location of her captivity has not been revealed to us, but we do know that she is not in danger from her captor, the thief, and she will soon leave this place of hiding of her own accord. We do see that a son of a basket weaver, one bathed in blood, poses a grave risk to her safety. We will try to reach out to her and warn her.”
“Thank you Sisters. Your assistance is very much appreciated. I will leave you to your rest. May God continue to bless you with His many gifts and give you strength for the journey.”
With that she rose and braced herself for the long, painful trek back down the tower.

May 2, 1420
5:00 AM Over Time
National Zoranian Banking Clan Tower; Yemiduga City, Fisheros, Zoran
Kunagadoga Quasena sat at the desk in his office—the same office he had claimed for himself two days ago—smoking a cigar as he watched the desolation of the great city of Zoradia with malevolent glee on the TV.
“Perfect, this is going exactly as planned.” He said to himself as he watched a building collapse.
This plan is going to be so much easier with that incompetent pompus general in my pocket. The best part is that I don’t have to pay him anything, I just have to give him a “good” idea and allow him to take the credit for it. Not only will the GDC be wasting its resources but it made itself look to the international community. But, more importantly, the suffering that was caused by this should be enough to lure Atsil out of hiding, she always had a soft heart.
He takes a drag of his cigar before looking at the latest reports from the field and swiveling his chair so he is facing the window that overlooks the city. He grins as he sees the preparations for the operation to either capture or eliminate Atsil, the sooner she is out of the picture the faster the Monarchists will fall.
“So glad to see you sitting in the chair of another bourgeois prick’s office. What did you have to do to get this one? Hold their family hostage? Threaten to ruin their hedge fund?” said an all too familiar synthesized voice,
“To be honest, you arrived a day later than expected and I am still baffled as to how you got past the security. What do you want CGZ?” said Kunagadoga in a cold and monotone voice,
“Want something? No, if I wanted to take from you rich assholes I would have already taken it. I came to impart some wisdom onto you.”
“Oh? Tell me, what can you possibly teach me that I don’t already know?”
“If you continue to follow down this path of dishonor and hatred, you will only be met with despair. With your current position you may do as you please, but once the foundations start to shake, things will be very different for you. The Daughter of Zoran will rise like the Dawn Bird and the sun in the old tales and with her the vengeance of all those you have harmed in your hunger for wealth and power will come down upon you. For she is your reckoning and she will Kick. Your. Ass.” CGZ said in a serious synthesized tone, “Remember, Kuna, just as Adanvdo once said, greed is a miser’s drunkenness and when the miser is consumed by his avarice, the righteous will come and take what is due.”
Kunagadoga began to chuckle and it grew into full blown laughter as he swiveled his chair around to face the armored king of thieves and tosses the reports he was looking at on his desk,
“When did you become a comedian? By the Spirit that was funny! ‘The Daughter of Zoran,’ HA! You use some colorful language and your performance was remarkable, but let’s be honest, Atsil doesn’t stand a chance.” he stopped laughing and a stern look forms on his face, “I know you came here because she is planning on leaving your mythical and illusive sanctum and you want to scare me into giving up. Let me tell you this, I am not backing down and Atsil will either be brought to me in chains or will be brought to me in a bodybag with a bullet through her skull. Your words mean nothing to me, thief, why? Because I know you will do nothing but sit back and watch this all unfold. You have all this power, all this skill, and who knows how much wealth, but you will never do anything with it. You won’t even do anything to protect that bitch when she leaves.” At this point, Kunagadoga was out of his seat and leaning forward on his desk and the air was tense. CGZ maintained his cool and didn’t let Kuna’s words get to him,
“This isn’t my fight and more importantly I have a dislike for killing. I am only telling you to back down now because if you pursue this path, you are going to be the one who ends up dead. I hope you are pleased with the pain you are inflicting on others Kuna, because all that pain will just be sent back unto you.” The power in the building then went out and smoke filled the room and by the time the power went on a minute or two later, CGZ was gone. Kuna coughed as the smoke cleared only to be left slightly annoyed with CGZ’s disturbance.
“Yeah right, that thief is all talk. Atsil won’t have what it takes to survive through this, the supposed ‘Daughter of Zoran’ as he called her will be nothing more than a lie told by him.”

May 1, 1420
3:45 PM Over Time
Waholi leaned upon his desk and held the ridge of his nose as he coped with the continued bombing of Zoradia. Five platoons worth of men were lost in the city when the bombing began. He doesn’t know whether the men are MIA or KIA and for now considers them MIA. This is all based on reports he is receiving from various hideouts that are receiving the men that were in the area of the city. The men they received informed them of what occurred and after hours of collecting information they came to the number of men lost to be the equivalent of five platoons.
Waholi took another drink of his Badgerian whisky when a junior officer entered the room,
“Sir, Prince Dominic of Larxia is here to meet with you.” Waholi nodded and turned to face the junior officer,
“Bring him in.” he ordered. The soldier saluted before carrying out his orders. Waholi let out a sigh of exhaustion to get himself ready for the prince’s arrival. A few minutes later, Prince Dominic was escorted into the room with what Waholi assumed to be his assistant of some sort following behind him.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness.” Waholi said with a bow, “Please, take a seat. I am sorry if recent events caused any disruptions in your flight here. Is there anything I can offer you and your assistant?”
“Oh, no thanks. We have come here on urgent business. We would like to see you win the war, then we can sit together for a drink or two. But right now you need something and we’re here to offer it to you,” said Prince Dominic in a serious tone as he took a seat.
“As you wish, your highness. I would like to apologize for my, how should is say, disheveled appearance. The bombing that is going on has had a large impact on me. I’ve been up since midnight getting the troops who were in the city or around it out of the area and getting a total on the number we lost in it.” Waholi said with a heavy heart.
“I’m sorry for the loss. There’s nothing worse than losing your men without a chance to fight back, and we are very invested in your victory, given our friendly history with the Ani’-Wah’s,” Prince Dominic said rather coolly.
“Thank you, now I don’t want to waste anymore of your valuable time. I am assuming you know what we desperately need, yes? 
“Of course. We are willing to offer you any kinds of armaments that you require. We’ll be offering you funds to fight and survive through the war, and I know that you don’t control any launch pads or the planes, we are willing to help you with that if you require. Larxian scientists have almost developed a mobile launch site that you can assemble, launch, and disassemble. It would look like there wasn’t a missile fired from that location. Now of course only if you want it. Though I feel I should tell you that the King has  one stipulation, he wants to strengthen the relations with Zoran in the future, so he would like to sign a trade deal with you post war,” Prince Dominic laid out the terms.
“Thank you for your aid, your highness. We gratefully accept the aid you are giving us, of course we would be willing to establish a trade deal after the war. I hope you have a safe flight home, may the Spirit guide you.”
"Oh I won't be flying back for some time. I need to maintain my cover. If you ever need to talk to me, I'll be staying in the Saint Markan estate around ten miles south of Gosdugadohi. Here's a burner phone, call me before you send anyone. May the Spirit be with you," Prince Dominic said as he took leave of the General. Waholi nodded and turned to another soldier in the room,
“Gather all the generals, it is time for a meeting to discuss our strategy for the war along with other issues. Also, Saint Mark said that their mystics might be able to assist us in locating Atsil, send word to them and say we are interested.” said Waholi to the soldier before they left the room. Waholi returned to his desk and turned his attention from the reports on the casualties from the ongoing bombings to the reports on the potential whereabouts of Atsil, to which he sees is very little.
The whole key to finding her location is finding that mythical and illusive hideout of CGZ. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to occur so I have no choice but to resort to using unreliable superstition. Damn it Apenimon, while you were unable to raise that girl she certainly shares many of your qualities.
Waholi thought to himself before gathering up what he needs for the upcoming meeting with other generals in the faction.

Auoraeng Ghomhoeria ae Fhaengshia (The Most Gilt Republic of Fhaengshia)
 
GEOGRAPHY
Located on the northern coast of Andolia, Fhaengshia covers an area of 462,346 square km (178,513 square miles), including the islands of Caendhai, Imallier, and Liciah. To the north, the marshy tropical coastline of Ahfeginsi is dominated by wetlands bordering the Darkesian Sea, and is separated from the arid plateau dominating a third of the country with the Greater Shihganfean mountain range rising up to 3921m at Mt. Oune. Soil condition in the north is poor being predominantly sandy clay, the eastern coast provides the most fertile land with Binah being the largest of the lakes providing year-round irrigation. West of the mountain range, spring snowmelt from the peaks drain down to seasonal lakes in Enuo and Aneiane on the Aiarn Plateau which primarily provides for subsistence agriculture for most of the plateau region. The lower plains and forests to the south of the plateau are sparsely populated due to inaccessibility as the majority of the population lives along the east coast with the bulk on Caendhai island.
Climate: Tropical in the north with rainy seasons along the north and east coasts Apr-May and Oct-Dec. Coastal mean annual rainfall of approximately 2400mm; average daily temperature range 22-31ºC (71-88ºF). The plateau interior at an average elevation of 1800m (1.12 miles) experiences cooler conditions with a mean range of 5-20ºC (41-68ºF) with 400mm rainfall. High humidity of over 80% cover most of the coastline in Oct-Dec.
 
POPULATION
Total population (November 1420 est.) is 14,566,641, of which 35% live in urban areas. Population density (1420 est.) is 31.5 persons per square km (81.6 persons per square mile). Ethnic composition: Predominantly Fhaengshian with significant Shihganfean, Gheffian, Aiarn and Shenian minorities.
Birth rate 14/1000. Death rate 6/1000. Rate of population increase .8% (1420 est.). Age distribution under 15 = 19%; over 64 = 7%. Life expectancy female 74; male 70; average 72. Infant mortality 16/1000 live births.
Major Cities & towns
Fhaendhaw (Capital) 2,420,000 Ganfa 809,000 Gheffa 780,000 Finsi 415,000 Religion: Predominantly Shih, 48% of the population are Reformed-Shih (reformed in 940 AF). A mixture of other faiths comprise a further 17% minority.
Language: Fhaeng is the official language of government and is spoken as a first language to roughly 45% of the population. Ganfa is an official regional language with three major dialects (Northern, Aiarn and Shenian) being the first language to roughly 55% of the population. Common is frequently spoken in the trading ports of Fhaendhaw, Gheffa and Finsi and a basic level is taught in most schools.
 
CONSTITUTION & GOVERNMENT
Executive & Legislature: The Consuls are the head of state with executive authority, by convention following advice from a cabinet. The bicameral legislature is composed of the Grand Assembly and the Grand Council. The first Consul is elected for life with the second Consul elected by the Senior Councillors to a single, non-renewable 5 year term. The current constitution was written in 1356. Justices of the Supreme Courts and top military officials sit alongside elected members in the Grand Council. Last elections were held in January 1420.
Present Government: Consuls Aedilina Ahliero & Riennhalia Piadhae. Chief Justices Iktraehna Leiluo & Oderms Hengauld. Senior Councillors Fhiabert Aneihl, Kielho Mhaedhe, Oepia Delnnhaw, Rhieklas Anghue, Ueikr Haedstae & Ughierst Kaentolluo.
Administration: There are 12 territories and one national territory, grouped into 6 clusters, with the Shihganfe cluster comprising Shihganfe and Ahfeginsi, the Aiar cluster comprising Bhaiarch, Trhaiarch, Aneiane and Enuo, the Shenia cluster comprising North Shenia, South Shenia, Central Naegsainh and Central Saegnainh, and the Gheffian cluster comprising Upper Gheffian and Lower Gheffian. The national territory of Fhaengshia is split into the other two clusters with the Fhaendhaw cluster comprising only the island of Caendhai and the Fhaengshian cluster comprising the rest of the national territory.
Justice: Based on common law, there are magistrate courts and tribunals throughout the nation with district courts in larger population areas. Appeals courts are in the capital for each territory and a civil supreme court and criminal supreme court in the nations capital hearing ultimate appeals.
National Days: 10 March (Republic Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 30 September (National Day, fall of the Kingdom), 1 October (Constitution Day).
 
ECONOMY
Currency: The Fhaengshian szchequinn ∮, divided into 100 oeldhi ⧂; ∮6.5 = $1 (Nov 1420).
Budget: (1420) revenue $103.9 billion; expenditure $99.8 billion.
Balance of payments: (current account 1420) was a surplus of $2.4 billion; external debt (1420) $114.7 billion.
Inflation: (1419) 1.4%
GDP: (1419) $316.8 billon, per capita $21,753.
Economically active population: (1418) 10.1m.
Sector % Workforce % GDP Industry 24 29 Agriculture 37 12 Services 39 59 Energy: Output (1419) crude oil 440,000 barrels per day; natural gas 48.8 billion cubic metres. There are 22 offshore oil and gas fields. Production is carried out by Auoraeng Resources in which the government has a 51% stake.
Minerals: (1419 in 1000 tonnes) Recycled steel 16,400, copper 360, lead 320, marble 150, granite 3100, gold 15.
Electricity: (1419) Production 55.2 billion KWh (62% fossil fuel, 22% solar, 16% wind); consumption 52.1 billion KWh.
Agriculture: 20% of the land is arable. A further 24% is used for meadows and pasture. Tropical, subtropical and temperate crops can be grown and mixed farming is practiced in wetter regions and subsistence agriculture in more arid regions. At high altitudes (up to 2500m or 1.55 miles) tea, sisal and wheat are the main crops while at lower altitudes cacao, cotton, sugar, cashews, dates, bananas and pineapples are mainly grown.
Crop production: (1419 in 1000 tonnes) sugar cane 11,543, wheat 2120, bananas 731, dates 142, pineapple 133, tea 110, cacao 67.
Livestock numbers: (1419 in 1000 head) cattle 8786, pigs 6433, sheep 1421.
Forestry: 16% of the country is forested. Bamboo grows mainly on higher ground and coniferous and broadleaved trees at lower altitudes. Roundwood production (1419 in 1000 cubic metres) 3158.
Fisheries: Catch (1419) 348,622 tonnes.
Industry: Small-scale consumer goods (textiles, clothing, electric appliances, furniture), agricultural products, chemicals, fossil fuels, metals, shipbuilding.
Commerce: (1419) exports (f.o.b.) $36.2 billion including fossil fuels, textiles, agricultural products and electric appliances. Imports (c.i.f.) $33.7 billion including capital goods, metals, machinery & consumer goods.
Tourism: (1419) arrivals 1.15 million; receipts $600 million.
 
COMMUNICATIONS
Railways: 6,800 km (4,230 miles) of which 3,300 km (2,050 miles) are electrified.
Roads: 45,600 km (28,300 miles) of which 12,700 km (7,900 miles) are surfaced.
Aviation: There are 84 airports of which 19 have paved runways. The main airports are Capital Ghomhoeria (near Fhaendhaw), Ganfa Intl. and Gheffa Std. Air Fhaengshia provides international services.
Shipping: The marine ports of Fhaendhaw, Gheffa and Finsi are situated on the Darkesian Sea. There are around 5,600 km (3,500 miles) of inland waterways, of which 1,600 km (1000 miles) are navigable throughout the year. Merchant marine (1000 GRT or over) 61 ships (34 cargo, 15 tanker, 8 passenger and 4 bulk).
Telecommunications: Most of the populated areas have an adequate modern service, inland regions are still unreliable. There are 6.1 million telephone lines, 13.4 million mobile phones, 7.8 million radios and 12.1 million televisions, with services provided by both private and state-owned companies. There are 45 AM, 127 FM and 3 shortwave radio stations and 22 TV stations. There are 8 ISPs and 11.6 million internet users.
 
EDUCATION & WELFARE
Education: The system consists of primary and secondary schools, 17 technical colleges and 5 universities.
Literacy: 90% (1418). Female 90%, male 91%.
Health: There are 125 hospitals among many other health clinics and dispensaries under a free national health service for children and adult citizen outpatients. In 1418 there were 191 doctors and 367 nurses per 100,000 persons.
 
DEFENCE
Total Armed Forces: 31,700, (1420) Defence budget $4.1b/yr (1.3% of GDP).
Army: 19,700; 45 main battle tanks, 30 light tanks, 45 APCs, 90 IFVs, 195 towed artillery, 22 SAM batteries, 26 AA gun systems and 4 vehicle-launched bridges. Army bases are near Niebhaw, FH; Finsi, AH; and Shashia, NS. Led by a Brigadier.
Navy: 4,600; 4 frigates, 12 patrol and coastal vessels, 1 survey vessel, 1 vehicle ferry (600 lane metres), 6 light landing vessels (60 troops, 70 lane metres), and 4 utility helicopters. Navy bases are near Fhaendhaw, FH; and North Gheffa, UG. Led by a Captain.
Air Force: 3,200; 16 combat aircraft, 12 cargo aircraft, 6 observation aircraft, 12 armed helicopters and 24 utility helicopters. Air Force bases are near Fhaendhaw, FH; and Finsi, AH. Led by a Colonel.
Paramilitary: 6,000; National Guard; 40 APCs. Based around every major city, led by a Colonel. 3,200; Coast Guard; 25 patrol vessels and 16 search and rescue helicopters. Based around every major coastal city, led by a Captain.

 

April 31, 1420
1:00 AM Over Time
Unknown location
Atsil could not sleep, her mind was racing with concern over the innocent lives at risk from the conflict. She thought of her siblings and her nieces and nephews, worried about how they are handling the situation. CGZ did end up getting her a phone as promised and indeed it was better than her previous one and thankfully none of the things she had saved on her previous phone was lost. In the time since CGZ took her here, her siblings have been asking if she’s safe or if she is actually in league with the monarchists. She has been afraid to respond fearing that she would be putting their lives at risk.
She decided to go and get something to drink from the kitchen and left the room. As she descended down the stairs she heard what sounded like surprised movement in the direction of the living room. As she reached the bottom, she saw CGZ wearing a ski mask and sunglasses, jeans, and a white long sleeve shirt.
“What are you doing up so early in the morning?” he asked,
“What are *yawn* you doing up so early in the morning?” she asked back. He let out a slight chuckle before saying,
“Keeping my eye on the movements of the different factions. For the past hour something terrible has been happening in Zoradia.” These words made Atsil worry,
“What do you mean? What happened?” CGZ sighed before asking,
“Do you really want to know?” As simple as those words were it made Atsil’s hair stand up on the back of her neck. She found herself hesitating before answering,
“Yes, what happened?” CGZ tapped the right side of his sunglasses and said,
“Jeeves, turn on family room TV.” The flat screen TV behind him came to life and showed a horrific scene. Zoranian multirole fighter jets bombing the capital city of Zoradia. Missiles collided into the skyscrapers and the jets fired HEI-T-SD rounds into buildings to slowly bring them crumbling down. Soldiers from different factions were scrambling to get out of the city and she saw some get crushed under a piece of concrete. Atsil stood there silently watching it all unfold with shock. Her skin turned pale and her eyes began to water as her body began to tremble.
How could a government do this! Innocent lives are at risk! This act is unnecessary and a waste of resources! All the people who must be living in fear at what is occurring...it fills my heart with sorrow.
Her legs soon gave out and she began to cry, lamenting the suffering of the people. She didn’t hear CGZ tell Jeeves to turn off the TV or his approaching footsteps. CGZ knelt down and helped Atsil to her feet and walked her over to the couch. He offered her comfort while she lamented over the suffering of the people.
CGZ felt bad for Atsil, she did not ask to be part of any of this. All factions are looking for her all because she is the new head of the Ani’-Wah’ family. Atsil was young and while CGZ wasn’t much older than her, she has been experiencing so much change in such a short amount of time.
I do not envy her, no one should have to deal with all of this. There is so little that I can do to help her, but by providing her refuge she will at le-
“I need to go out there.” she finally said after a few minutes of crying.
“What? Are you insane!?”
“People are suffering, I need to do something to help them!”
“Atsil, you have a large target on your back! The corporates want you dead, the theocrats want you dead, even the GDC wants you dead! By going out there you are going to get killed!”
“Hiding away while people are suffering is dishonorable! I need to go out there and do something to help! Even if it is by leading the monarchist faction, I have to do something for them!”
“You don’t even know if the monarchist leadership is only riding on the popularity of your father! They could seek to use you as a puppet for their goals!”
“Well to me they are the lesser of four evils! If they want to use me as a puppet then it will be their fault for underestimating me! I may not want to be queen but I have to do something to help the country and its people.” CGZ got up from the couch and stormed away into one of the many mysterious rooms in this place. After a few minutes CGZ came back with a thick file in his hand and handed it to Atsil. The folder had the logo of the SIC on it and below it said “Training Manual”.
“Read up on this. You aren’t going to be able to master it today but you may need some skills from this if you want to do what you plan on doing.” Atsil took the file and looked at it with surprise,
“How did you even? Nevermind, I shouldn’t be surprised. But if you are so against me going out there then why give me this?”
“Because if you want to go out there I can’t stop you. If you are going to do this then I don’t want to see you get killed out there. So, to me, the best way to help you is to give you access to the skills created by your family so you have a chance of surviving.” He began walking away when he said, “Let me know when you are ready to leave so I can take you to the monarchist headquarters.” CGZ then left the family room and Atsil was left on the couch with the training manual in her hand.
What an odd man. He went from being frustrated to helpful and reluctantly supportive. Well I don’t intend on looking a gift horse in the mouth so I better get to reading this immediately.
Atsil went to her guest room with the file to begin reading the SIC manual.
Meanwhile, CGZ took the sunglasses and the ski mask off and sat at his desk and looked at the monitors of his computer. He pulled up the information he had on the different factions and their allies.
So let’s see here. Seems the GDC has recognition from Giovanniland and support from the Fujansk, Artzotskia, and Marble Mallorca. For the monarchists it seems that they might have support from Saint Mark and Larxia. It appears that the theocrats might have support from Varanius and the corporates have made it clear that they are doing business with Dalimbar. This is going to be an interesting war.
He then turned his attention to the pile of calling cards on his desk and as he looked at the symbol on it Atsil’s words echoed in his head,
Hiding away while people are suffering is dishonorable!
He recalled his family history, how his ancestors performed daring heists and escapes in the past just for the thrill of the steal. But what always stood out to him was how they gave half of what they stole to the people in need. If it was an item like a crown or a valuable piece of art they would take half the value of that item from their own funds and give it to the people without selling the item. His ancestors never turned away from the people and CGZ began to feel the weight of that legacy because of Atsil’s words. He put his head in his hands and pulled at his hair,
Those were different times! I can’t afford to be as bold as my ancestors! Security has evolved and so has criminal investigation! Hiding in the shadows and remaining in the shadows is the way forward!
He let out a growl in frustration and quickly turned to his computer and pulled up some funny cat videos to distract him from his family’s legacy that weighed down on him.

April 30, 1420
2:30 PM Overtime
From the perspective of a Zoradian resident
An emergency announcement popped up on my phone and on the television. It was an official announcement from the GDC that was straight and to the point,
“Attention all residents of Zoradia! The GDC is ordering an immediate evacuation of all people from the city. Take only what you need and flee the city. Soldiers will try their best to ensure a safe evacuation of all people. This order also goes for those who remain in embassies in the capital. No one is permitted to prevent people from evacuating the city. People can evacuate via roadways or by sea. Everyone must be out of the city by 23:00 Overtime tonight!”
When the television reverted back to its normal channel and I looked up from my phone, I heard honking and pandemonium from outside my window. The gunshots still exist but they are now drowned out by the sound of honking and panic.
Soldiers were guiding cars and people to the evacuation routes while keeping a lookout for rebels. Who knows if the evacuation will be pulled off in time.
 
April 31, 1420
00:00 Overtime
The once bustling streets of Zoradia are now practically empty. The streets were devoid of life and those that remained were rebels that thought the GDC had abandoned the city. But those that remained did not get the memo of the evacuation. The roaring sound of jets could be heard in the distance when the first explosion occurred, one of the skyscrapers has been hit with a missile. The rebels in the city dove for cover as debris began to rain down from above. But the explosions didn’t stop there. There was soon another explosion and another and then another. Buildings began to crumble and burn.
The fighter jets roared over the city executing the order they have been given—destroy the city and make sure nothing remains except for the Temple and the Mausoleum if possible. While the government may lack bombers the missiles from the jets will complete the job after numerous runs. At the same time, off in the distance, members of the military were firing shells of artillery in hopes of speeding along the process.
It was clear that the bombing was not going to stop for quite some time. But the biggest tragedy of this act is that some people still have yet to evacuate. While the evacuation order was initiated, many elderly people were unable or unwilling to leave their homes. On top of this, those who were in the hospital and other medical facilities were unable to leave because of their condition and this led to many employees in the medical facilities unable to leave the building to care for the patients. This led to the death of innocent civilians when the homes of the elderly and the medical facilities were bombed as well.
Outside the city, people fled to other cities and others set up refugee camps. Those that fled by sea were either taken in by ships sent by the fujansk for humanitarian aid, military vessels, or private ships of the wealthy who were forced to provide aid to their fellow Zoranians by military officers on the scene.
The desolation of Zoradia has begun and with it begun the true suffering of the Zoranian people.

April 30, 1420
2:27 PM Over Time
Unknown Location
After driving through a battle zone and then three hours of driving through what Atsil can only assume to be underground tunnels, Atsil felt CGZ’s electric car come to a stop.
“At last! We are finally here!” said CGZ, “Oh wait, you still can’t see. Hold on.” The blindfold was then removed from Atsil’s head and she saw the interior of CGZ’s car for the first time. The seats were a black leather that went with the midnight black color of the interior. There were multiple touch screens along the dashboard that detailed underground tunnels, patrol routes, conflict zones, traffic, etc. as well as climate control and things you would expect to find in a regular car. Atsil could only look with awe at the technological look of the interior.
“Impressed? All of this was the design of my father and I before the car industry began designing electric cars. But that doesn’t matter right now, come on I will show you to where you will be staying.” said CGZ in their synthesized voice. He got out of his car and Atsil quickly followed. Upon exiting the car, Atsil stood starstruck when she saw the machinery in what she could only assume to be the garage. She didn’t understand what most of it did but she could only assume it was for inventing new gadgets or for the car. But she stopped looking around when she noticed that CGZ was about to leave the room and so she hurried behind him.
The hallway she followed him into was even more extravagant, but not with machinery. The hallway had Saint Markian doric columns made of white marble all the way down to the end and in between the columns there was a statue of what Atsil could only assume to be CGZ’s of the past. Golden chandeliers lit the hallway and gave a yellowish hue to the stone grey walls and the floor was a checkered black and white with polished marble and black granite. Atsil observed all of this as they walked through the hallway until they reached the end.
“If you think this is impressive, just wait till you see what’s next.” said CGZ as the door opened in front of him to reveal a large room full of bookshelves that are built into the walls and that are lined up in rows in the middle of the room. But the bookshelves only occupied half of the room, which was the side they were on. At the other side of the room there was one large computer monitor with two smaller monitors attached on the either side of it displaying a variety of data or news reports.
“By the Spirit, were you inspired by a certain comic book superhero or something?” asked Atsil,
“I didn’t design this room, the original room was made by the sixth CGZ and was modified, expanded, upgraded, updated, etc. by other generations and my father got the computer all set up before he passed. But he was a bit of a comic nerd so it is quite possible.” He answered as we made our way passed the part of the room occupied by bookshelves and into the area occupied by the computer along with a variety of other things such as what looked to be an armor display case and other things.
“How did your family manage to keep all of this a secret?! Surely the purchase or theft of the things needed to create half of the technology you have would have here would draw a lot of attention!” asked Atsil,
“Can’t tell you or else you might go blab about it to someone after this mess is over. But let’s just say my family were people of many faces.” he said cryptically. They then turned right and went through a door which led to what seemed like a regular living room and kitchen with a mixture of the architecture and design found in the hallway and modern appliances and technology with a large window that overlooked the Zoranian jungle. The furniture was elaborate and had a royal feel to it. Atsil was kind of disappointed at what she saw, something which CGZ could sense from her and let out a chuckle before saying,
“What? Am I not allowed to have some normal comforts in my home?”
“No of course not!” said Atsil, “I am just surprised there wasn’t some advanced machine hidden somewhere.” He just laughed in response and led her up a spiral staircase in the middle of the room and led her to a large double wooden door.
“This will be your room. You should be able to find everything you would need in there including clothes. Also, do you still have your phone on you by any chance?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Give it to me for a second.” He said as he held his hand out for the phone,
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to be tracked. The security measures here that prevent tracking are advanced but I don’t want to take any chances.” Atsil, begrudgingly, gave her phone to CGZ who removed the case from it, took a tool out from his suit, and removed the sim card from it. He then threw it onto the floor as hard as he could and crushed it under his foot.
“Hey! What the f-”
“Language, also don’t worry I will get you a better one of my own design. I still have the sim card so all your data should be safe.” He said as he slid the sim card into a small pouch in his suit and picked up the pieces of the shattered phone from the floor. “I will get the phone to you in about an hour or so. In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay and let me know if you need anything. Also don’t go snooping around, there are a lot of rooms in this place and some of them can be dangerous.”
With that CGZ walked away down the stairs and out of sight. Atsil was still angry about the phone but turned towards the door to her room and pushed it open only to let out a gasp. The room was like she walked into a royal bedchamber, something which seemed ironic to her considering that one faction wants to make her a queen. But considering how old the place is and how wealthy CGZ must be from all that his ancestors stole over the years, the room’s design and style made sense to her.
Does he live here on his own? How does he keep all of these rooms so clean and dust free if he does live on his own? Did his ancestors hire people to build all of this? There are just so many questions to be asked about this place! But most importantly, where exactly am I!?
Atsil sat down on the soft bed, feeling the soft silk sheets with her hand as she thought about all of these questions. However, the thought that weighs heaviest on her mind is how the Zoranian people are living during these times of conflict.

The fire crackled in the hearth, shining on King Maddy IV and his brother Prince Dominic, as they sat in front of each other.
King Maddy IV said," My brother, you will be visiting Zoran to meet up with the Monarchists' General. An agent of -redacted- will accompany you, disguised as your assistant, for your safety."
Prince Dominic asked," Won't sending a member of the Royal Family raise suspicion in the other factions?"
King Maddy IV replied rather coolly," It would if you would have just visited the country without no good reason. That's why I talked with Prince Marcarius, and he agreed to lease some of the Saint Markan estates in Zoran for a period of ten years. Your cover will be to check on the estates and secretly meet with the General."
"Understood. You know, I'm sometimes in awe of how you think and how you maintain your international relations. I have a question though, how much can I stretch for them, you know because I won't be able to reach you at that time."
"You can offer them arms and money and if they are in a dire need, other kinds of armaments. Promise some post war reparation funds and put in an idea of a trade deal post war."
"Sure. Goodbye brother, I'll see 
you soon", Prince Dominic said while hugging his brother, because as good an opportunity this was, there was an existential threat to his life.
"Goodbye brother. Your 'assistant' will brief you further on your way there. And be extremely careful, God forbid, if anything happens to you, no power in this world will stop me from marching into Zoran."
Prince Dominic left the palace for the airport with his 'assistant', with pride that his brother trusted him with this important duty. His life was probably in danger, and he hoped that he would be alive to see his beloved brother again, but he wouldn't let that stop him from accomplishing the task at hand.

April 30, 1420 AF
12:15 PM Over time
In the catacombs of an ancient Zonethos Temple
Shaman Oconostota Nideloyu was offering up a prayer to the Great Spirit in hopes that his meeting with the Varanian delegation would end with the support he needed. He knew the theocrat faction was the weakest among the four involved in the civil war, he desperately needed support should the Will of the Spirit be fulfilled.
The Spirit has warned us against straying from His Will and the country is now in turmoil because of the previous government straying from His Will. Only the Divine Shaman, the successor of Adanvdo can return the country to glory in the eyes of the Spirit.
He got up from the ground and started making his way down the halls of the catacombs in order to meet with the Varanian delegation. He knew little about the delegation but he knew they were willing to give support to his righteous cause.
As he drew closer to the meeting place within the catacombs, he could see the Varanian general waiting for him. He could tell the general was not comfortable standing in a dimly lit room surrounded by skeletons. He entered the room and held up a hand in greeting,
“It is a pleasure to have you here in general. I apologize for keeping you waiting here for as long as I did. Come, let’s go to some place a bit less...grim.” said Nideloyu.
“The pleasure is mine,” said General Ristovski, “and yes, let’s.”
General Ristovski and Shaman Nideloyu made their way through one of the many tunnels of the catacombs until they reached a staircase that leads into the temple which resides above them. This temple was ancient, abandoned long ago when Adanvdo reformed the faith. The reason it was abandoned was because it was judged to be tainted by a giant symbol of a crab, the sign of Ulagohvsgi, being etched in the middle of the temple floor. But this temple, which has been reclaimed by nature, is now the base of operations for the theocratic faction. They stopped in the most intact room in the temple that had a table and a few chairs in the center of the room.
“Please take a seat general, we have much to discuss.” said Nideloyu as he gestured towards one of the chairs. General Ristovski  nodded in gratitude and sat in the chair while Nideloyu walked over to the other side of the table to sit in the seat opposite of him.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Now might I ask why Varanius is interested in backing our most righteous cause? It seems unusual for a secular state to back a group that wishes to create a theocracy.’
“Yes, it does admittedly seem rather odd. But, we wish the best for the people of Zoran, and we think you have the best chance of making that happen.”
“We thank you for coming so far to meet with us. I would be lying if I said we didn’t need support. What kind of assistance is Varanius willing to give us? Arms? Funds? Legitimacy?”
“Funds mainly, to begin with. Arms and legitimacy may come later, depending on availability.”
“And what would you like in return from us in the future? I can imagine that something trade related is what Varanius is looking at correct?”
“Right to the point I see. Yes, well. We do actually have our eyes on those exotic plants. Things like that have so many uses after all.”
“We can do something with that when we win the war.”
Nideloyu muttered a prayer of thanks to the Great Spirit before extending his hand to General Ristovski and shaking on their deal. The future may not be so dark for the theocrats as people once believed with the support they will receive from the Varanian government.

This is the Larxian Post and the Rugby related reports will be going down here
This is the Larxian Post and the Rugby related reports will be going down here 
In the first game of the Cup, Larxia Rugby succumbed at the hands of United Adaikes'. The final score was 14-8.  
W etalked to national coach, Felix, who said," It was certainly not how we wanted this to go. We have been working hard and will keep working hard in order to improve. It was a bad day in the office for us, and we are positive we can turn things around." 
King Maddy IV was seen consoling the players, and encouraging them to work harder. Who knew the King gives better pep talks than the manager.
The players are fired up for their game tomorrow and they have been training hard . The coaches are studying the Fhaengshian style of play, and it looks like they are progressing in mapping out the most used tactics by the Fhaengshian coach. This will definitely help them tailor their tactics to fit the opponent perfectly. 
Though a loss is not an ideal result, we will face anything to support our National Team. It is said that failure is a stepping stone to success. So we wish our team luck and hope they can step on the 'stepping stones' and eventually reach the success they went there for.

On day 2 of the tournament we can say it was the Day of the Home Advantage. Every single home advantage team, except in the Hertfordshire and Jammbo vs. Teralyon and the Fujai vs. Saint Mark games, saw victory. In the exceptions, we continue to see why H&J and Fujai are at the top of the rankings. But there is to be a case made for home advantage, hence why we factor in a home advantage in the formula. This certainly helped one side in particular, the squad from Nieubasria, which was inching closer and closer to absolute bottom of the rankings against a team despised and obliterated, the Order of the Marsupial Inductees.
Away (Y/A)     Home (Z/B) Cambria (48.62) 21 28 Libterraria (50.33+3) Nark (48.81) 23 32 Nieubasria (44.34+3) Dilber (52.59) 03 07 Kurabis (48.22+3) Dalimbar (51.82) 13 17 Min-Su (48.60+3) Giovanniland (56.00) 06 16 Mediobogdum (48.70+3) Big Bad Badger (50.82) 00 10 Zoran (52.86+3) Hertfordshire and Jammbo (60.80) 15 00 Teralyon (47.25+3) Fhaengshia (47.40) 06 11 Larxia (48.60+3) Fujai (56.90) 06 00 Saint Mark (52.60+3)  Day 2 Rankings:
Hertfordshire and Jammbo - 60.69 Fujai - 58.64 Zoran - 53.85 Giovanniland - 53.14 Taledo - 52.80 Mediobogdum - 51.56 Bobki - 51.40 United Adaikes - 51.40 Libterraria - 51.59 Saint Mark - 50.86 Min-Su - 50.64 Kurabis - 50.49 Dilber - 50.32 Big Bad Badger - 49.83 Dalimbar - 49.78 Larxia - 49.76 Sensorland - 49.74 Bhang Bhang Duc - 49.68 Recuecn - 48.42 Westwind - 47.58 Cambria - 47.56 Teralyon - 47.36 Nieubasria - 46.63 Nark - 46.52 Fhaengshia - 46.24 Darkesia - 45.41 Croblade - 44.92 OMI - 43.39

This is the Larxian Post and the Rugby related reports will be going down here
This is the Larxian Post and the Rugby related reports will be going down here 
In the first game of the Cup, Larxia Rugby succumbed at the hands of United Adaikes'. The final score was 14-8.  
W etalked to national coach, Felix, who said," It was certainly not how we wanted this to go. We have been working hard and will keep working hard in order to improve. It was a bad day in the office for us, and we are positive we can turn things around." 
King Maddy IV was seen consoling the players, and encouraging them to work harder. Who knew the King gives better pep talks than the manager.
The players are fired up for their game tomorrow and they have been training hard . The coaches are studying the Fhaengshian style of play, and it looks like they are progressing in mapping out the most used tactics by the Fhaengshian coach. This will definitely help them tailor their tactics to fit the opponent perfectly. 
Though a loss is not an ideal result, we will face anything to support our National Team. It is said that failure is a stepping stone to success. So we wish our team luck and hope they can step on the 'stepping stones' and eventually reach the success they went there for.

The coaches and the National team did good in their word. They promised a victory and they delivered one. Captain of the team, Beauden Brown, said in the post match interview that he was happy with the final result, but there is always room for improvement. He was particularly happy that the team has got the ball rolling.
The margin was not that big, but the coaches and the players are working on training to create more scoring opportunities. The match against Fhaengshia was just the first victory in many, with the team gearing up for their match against Fujanske Rugby. With the team from Fujai being a naturally defensive team, and the Larxian team being an attacking team, this tie will definitely live upto the fans' expectations.
The coaches will be employing similar methods where they watch the past clips of the Fujanske Rugby team in order to understand the thinking of the opponents, and they seem to doing quite a good task.
The morale in camp is high, with His Highness, King Maddy IV there to enjoy the Larxian victory, and the fans in the stands chanting the official song of the Larxian National team.

Welcome back to Rugby Ratings, provided by the Department of Sport of the Free State of Dalimbar. With day one action completed in the Second  Rugby WOrld Cup, we're proud to present stats madness throughout the tournament!
The biggest upset of the day easily went to the host team, Dilber. With them coming into this tournament with a ranking of 49.58 and playing technically as the "away" team, they needed to find anyway possible (with perhaps the use of some form of substance claimed to be "essential oils") to assist them overcome the Cambrian squad, which was sitting at 51.63 rank points. Add a "home" bonus of 3 to Cambria and one would expect them to stomp over the Dilber squad. But that's the beauty of rugby, expectations fly out the window as soon as the first scrum happens.
We also see our first tied match of either tournament, thus requiring a bit of explanation of how we account for ties. In the match between Kurabis (47.03) vs Nark (new, thus starting with 50.00), Kurabis was technically the underdog due to the lower rank points and not holding the "home advantage". Kurabis, because of the draw, was able to gain 1.19 points due to the following:
D = ((50.00+3)-47.03)x0.2 = 1.19
Where Nark had 50.00 rank points and had a pre-match home field advantage of 3, giving Nark 53.00 pre-match points. Kurabis, as noted above, had 47.03. Thus, despite drawing, Kurabis was able to gain as they were not necessarily expected to win or draw against Nark.
With that being said, here's the results.
Away (Y/A)     Home (Z/B) Dilber (49.58) 17 13 Cambria (51.63+3) Kurabis (47.03) 13 13 Nark (50.00+3) Nieubasria (44.67) 06 09 Libterraria (50.00+3) Mediobogdum (50.00) 12 18 Dalimbar (50.52+3) Min-Su (50.00) 17 21 Bobki (50.00+3) Teralyon (49.83) 00 17 Big Bad Badger (48.24+3) Zoran (50.00) 08 00 Recuecn (51.28+3) Saint Mark (50.00) 22 12 Fhaengshia (50.00+3) Larxia (50.00) 08 14 United Adaikes (50.00+3) For fun, the Department of Sports has decided to keep the teams not playing this tournament in the rankings, but will italicize those not participating. They're included to provide some form of comparison on how other squads are doing this time around.
 Day 1 Rankings:
Hertfordshire and Jammbo - 60.80 Fujai - 56.90 Giovanniland - 56.00 Zoran - 52.86 Taledo - 52.80 Saint Mark - 52.60 Dilber - 52.59 Dalimbar - 51.82 Bobki - 51.40 United Adaikes - 51.40 Big Bad Badger - 50.82 Libterraria - 50.33 Sensorland - 49.75 Bhang Bhang Duc - 49.68 Nark - 48.81 Mediobogdum - 48.70 Cambria - 48.62 Larxia - 48.60 Min-Su - 48.60 Recuecn - 48.42 Kurabis - 48.22 Westwind - 47.58 Fhaengshia - 47.40 Teralyon - 47.25 Darkesia - 45.41 Croblade - 44.92 Nieubasria - 44.34 OMI - 43.39

The Royal Affair
By: Maxwell Walker
New Larxia- It is speculated that King Maddy IV has been courting actress and activist, Mackenzie Becker for the past two years.
We have reports that His Highness proposed to the actress on his private yacht when they were out on the sea with some friends. Who knew our King had a knack for being a romantic guy.
It is said that it was the most picture perfect proposal. With champagne at hand, a giant diamond, a family heirloom, and ofcourse the picturesque sunset. 
While all of the closest people to King were present there, we couldn't help but notice that Prince Dominic was not present when his brother proposed to the love of his life. Are tensions high in the Royal Family? Well we can't tell for now but we'll keep digging.
But back to the topic on point, King Maddy IV will marry our future queen very soon in an extravagant ceremony fit for a royal. It will be one of the largest events in all of TWP as we, as a nation will come together to celebrate our King and Queen.
It is suspected that the dignitaries from across the World will be attending the wedding. This will further strengthen the personal relationships of the leaders.
It would be great to see one of the most extravagant weddings of the century. It'll surely be the talk of the town for years to come or until they give us a Royal heir. Then we'll be head over heels for the heir.
 
 

The Royal Affair
By: Maxwell Walker
New Larxia- It is speculated that King Maddy IV has been courting actress and activist, Mackenzie Becker for the past two years.
We have reports that His Highness proposed to the actress on his private yacht when they were out on the sea with some friends. Who knew our King had a knack for being a romantic guy.
It is said that it was the most picture perfect proposal. With champagne at hand, a giant diamond, a family heirloom, and ofcourse the picturesque sunset. 
While all of the closest people to King were present there, we couldn't help but notice that Prince Dominic was not present when his brother proposed to the love of his life. Are tensions high in the Royal Family? Well we can't tell for now but we'll keep digging.
But back to the topic on point, King Maddy IV will marry our future queen very soon in an extravagant ceremony fit for a royal. It will be one of the largest events in all of TWP as we, as a nation will come together to celebrate our King and Queen.
It is suspected that the dignitaries from across the World will be attending the wedding. This will further strengthen the personal relationships of the leaders.
It would be great to see one of the most extravagant weddings of the century. It'll surely be the talk of the town for years to come or until they give us a Royal heir. Then we'll be head over heels for the heir.
 
 

The Royal Affair
By: Maxwell Walker
New Larxia- It is speculated that King Maddy IV has been courting actress and activist, Mackenzie Becker for the past two years.
We have reports that His Highness proposed to the actress on his private yacht when they were out on the sea with some friends. Who knew our King had a knack for being a romantic guy.
It is said that it was the most picture perfect proposal. With champagne at hand, a giant diamond, a family heirloom, and ofcourse the picturesque sunset. 
While all of the closest people to King were present there, we couldn't help but notice that Prince Dominic was not present when his brother proposed to the love of his life. Are tensions high in the Royal Family? Well we can't tell for now but we'll keep digging.
But back to the topic on point, King Maddy IV will marry our future queen very soon in an extravagant ceremony fit for a royal. It will be one of the largest events in all of TWP as we, as a nation will come together to celebrate our King and Queen.
It is suspected that the dignitaries from across the World will be attending the wedding. This will further strengthen the personal relationships of the leaders.
It would be great to see one of the most extravagant weddings of the century. It'll surely be the talk of the town for years to come or until they give us a Royal heir. Then we'll be head over heels for the heir.
 
 

29th November 1420
The Rugby World Cup will be starting today. Excitement levels are high in Larxia, with many Larxian fans flocking to Dilber in anticipation of watching their national heroes display their prowess on the field.
His Royal Highness, King Maddy IV booked a VIP Box for himself and his aides in the all the stadiums where the Larxian National Team will be playing. He'll be traveling to watch the World Cup tomorrow, supporting Larxia in their victories and losses equally from the stands.
The security detail in the National Team's hotel has been increased tenfold as His Royal Highness, King Maddy IV announced that he would live in the same hotel as the team for the duration of the tournament.
 
We certainly hope for the dub, but let the world know that Larxia will support the Team always. No matter the result, they will always be considered National heroes.

It had been a long weekend. The press conference in the lobby of the Royal Central Rail Station in Sanctus Leo had gone as expected. The questions centered on three topics.
How did Saint Mark expect to compete in rugby on the international stage when only a year ago a national team didn't even exist? Good question!
Won't the fact that the team has to take the train to accommodate Rudolph Centerman's fear of flying fatigue the players even before they arrive?
At least the games were being hosted in DIlber and not off continent. If that had been the case, we would have had to either take a ship or drugged Centerman.
How does Gregor Napoli feel about the civil war in Zoran?
Even though Gregor was born in Saint Mark of immigrant parents, the press still considered him Zoranian.
Afterwards, the team almost missed their train when the Goldwash twins couldn't be pulled away from a crowd of admiring young ladies.Thank goodness for our charismatic Fly-Half, Nelson Saint Mark. He seems to be the only one the team listens to when they lose focus. He was able to drag the twins away while avoiding his own scrum of fans.
Upon arrival, clearing customs went smoothly, although it was odd ... the officials almost seemed surprised that we weren't carrying any drugs.
The hotel was nice, not Saint Markan of course, but nice. The crab hors d’oeuvres in every room was a nice touch.
Finally, after a team meeting and another press conference, Sir Evan was alone in his room with his feet up and a glass of Aurum Sherry in his hand.
Please God, let the team hold together! Let us have a respectable showing.

General strikers march on Friberne after referendum repealing "SD-Works" fails by slim margin
Today, chaos broke out in the Federal Republic of Santos-Dominius. "SD-Works", centrist President Paul Goldberg's signature employment program, survived after the national referendum repealing it failed. The margin was extremely slim: 50.1% Nay against 49.8% Aye. However, the referendum was the last possible way to appease the nation's furious workers, angry and on general strike, and its failure was the final straw. Rumours of extensive rigging by President Goldberg circulated throughout the capital city, Friberne, as government officials scrambled to contain the strikes and restore order.
At the National Senate Building, all was not well. The centre-right Democratic Congress Party(DCB), under Goldberg's leadership, passed a motion to give concessions to the strikers as their last ditch attempt to hold together the unicameral legislature. It quickly became clear, however, that these concessions were too little, too late. The DCB nosedived in opinion polling, dropping to 24% while the President's approval ratings sunk to a dismal 10%. The DCB was perceived as out-of-touch and insincere by the strikers, who now demanded a snap election to throw Goldberg out. The Fribernese Fortress, housing the presidential residence, was nearly stormed multiple times throughout the day despite increased security personnel and military-grade fortifications.
President Goldberg himself has refused to back down. At a press conference in the Fortress' courtyard, he rejected all calls to hold a snap election, saying: "We will not hold a snap election. I repeat, we will not hold a snap election. The next election will be held in 1425, as the Directory of the Interior suggests. This country will not fall to unrest, violence and unfair elections." When asked about calling a snap election, Director of the Interior Alfred Schweitzmann declined to comment. His spokesman said that "Director Schweitzmann is unavailable at the moment and will not comment on electoral affairs".
While the Goldberg administration refuses to back down and the DCB crumbles into disarray, the opposition has rapidly swelled. The Country Liberal Party(CLP), the DCB's centre-left counterpart, walked out the National Senate in solidarity with the striking workers. The Friberne PD, unable to control the situation, surrendered the National Senate Building to the strikers shortly after. DCB senators were escorted out. The crowd then continued marching.
As the day progressed, the strikers marched slowly but steadily towards the Fribernese Fortress. With the country in disarray and the President unwilling to de-escalate the situation, the survival of Santo-Dominian democracy looks uncertain.