Preface
This is a rewrite of the original version of this RP, which had the same name. The broad premise is intended to remain the same, even if this one is massively expanded in scope.
Prologue: The Diverging Paths
Chamber of the Novaran Council
Legatorre
Lucroza, Celanora
July 5, 2021
10:00 AM (UTC-8)
Æthelwine Heardsunu was not the kind of man to make decisions lightly. He had spent much of his career working in foreign affairs, where impulsiveness was not a trait that would do anyone any favors. All risks had to be well-calculated.
It was strange, then, that he found himself in the position he was now, about to make the speech that he was about to give. At the same time, however, what was about to happen was a long time in the making.
Perhaps it was inevitable.
Æthelwine was seated at the desk within the Novaran Council’s chamber that he had occupied for the past year: that of the Secretary-General of the League of Novaris, the presiding officer of the Council. Facing him, in seats arranged in arches, were the assembled ambassadors and representatives from each member of the Novaran Council, from the League’s members to even its mere observers.
They, and by proxy, the countries of Novaris, were waiting for Æthelwine to play his part on the world stage. And he knew that what was going to happen in the next five minutes was going to make ripples across the continent.
He picked up his gavel and struck it three times upon his desk.
“The Novaran Council is now in session for its fifth year. As is customary at this point, I wish to make some opening remarks.”
Here it goes, then.
“We are, for yet another year, collected here in Lucroza, as a testament to Novaris’s ability to unite as one and act in our collective interest. In our mission to seek multilateral cooperation within this often too turbulent continent, in its previous session, this Council has had to deal with perhaps the greatest Novaran geopolitical crisis in more than a decade.”
The rise and fall of Correva had caused quite the stressful summer for Æthelwine, and he knew that he was not alone in this way.
“While it has proven that this League is more than resilient enough to navigate the stormy waters of Novaran geopolitics, we must still take caution. There are yet more storms to come, and we must be prepared to deal with them.”
And so comes the part that Æthelwine knew would make headlines.
“The Council has chosen to trust me with a second term as Secretary-General, for which I am well and truly honored. As the person entrusted with the helm of this great ship, I must be truthful and direct with what we are faced with. The Correvan crisis has caused tensions to spring up across Novaris, the likes of which has not been seen since the Novaran Cold War. We must do well to prevent another similar conflict from happening. I must also thus call out the two powers whose actions threaten to once again tear the continent apart.
“The Volscine Empire has given itself a mission to reclaim all of the lands it has lost since the collapse of the Volscine Confederation. Credible intelligence from the Correvan crisis has also established Volscina’s willingness to threaten other countries with the use of force for the simple crime of having ‘rightfully Volscine territory’ that has not been part of Volscina longer than some adults have been alive at this point. The will of the people of formerly Volscine countries has to be acknowledged and respected without interference, lest we dismantle the right to self-determination.
“I find the Kingdom of Tretrid no better in this regard. While I am aggrieved to find myself criticizing my country of origin on the international stage, my duty here is to all of Novaris, not just Tretrid. Tretrid has been perhaps the greatest victor of the collapse of Volscina, and it is the one country that benefits the most from the current status quo. It has proven itself uncompromising and selfish, and stingy with its spoils.”
Some bitterness managed to well up into the Secretary-General’s words as he said that last sentence. It didn’t need to be this way. It wasn’t always this way. Things used to be different, as Æthelwine knew all too well.
“It, too, is a threat to the peace.”
Maybe if things in the past had gone differently, Æthelwine wouldn’t be here denouncing the country that he had so faithfully served for most of his life.
Yet here he was, burning his bridges in order to move forward.
“There are those out there who no doubt believe that I cannot execute my current duties faithfully and dutily due to my history with Tretrid. After all, I have served in some of the highest echelons of its government, and personally worked with its current Prime Minister. These critics are mistaken. It is precisely due to my past with Tretrid that I feel especially compelled to call it out for the destructive path it has chosen to take, and to warn the wider world of the danger it poses to Novaris.
“If this League is to fulfill the task it set for itself in the Sixfold Declaration in 2017, then it must learn how to chart its course forward through these increasingly treacherous waters. The two nations that have done the most to nearly fracture Novaris are, after all, members of this very League, and they should both be aware that their actions threaten dragging all of Novaris down with them. I therefore must call on both sides to work out a renewed diplomatic framework with which a détente can be facilitated.
“There are many other issues that face our continent today, as well. The work on the Novaran Transportation Network, a sign of Novaran unity and proof of the benefits of international cooperation, continues. The world will continue to throw tests at us and we must rise up to meet the occasion. But we must face this existential threat and prevent Novaris from descending into the factionalism that defined it throughout the twentieth century. I believe we can, and we will.
“I yield the floor.”