Kalistan

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Kalistani News in Brief: Kalistan declares Neutrality on Rildanor
Empress Welcomes Hurotian Queen to Order; Crown Prince Joins NSP
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
July 1, 5661


Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller addresses Rildanor Crisis

Kalistan declares Neutrality on Rildanor
The Chancellor of the Empire met with reporters outside of the National Assembly today to announce that Her Imperial Majesty has declared that Kalistan will remain neutral in the growing Rildanor Crisis. "Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mary I Ananto has directed us to issue a proclamation of Neutrality in the Rildanor Crisis," said the Chancellor. "Currently, Egelion has declared war on the Southern Nation in an effort to repel Rildanorean attacks on the Leftist separatist Government of Meriath Island. Her Imperial Majesty has declared that this is a purely internal matter, and has offered to serve as mediator between the warring sides."

The Chancellor stated that Kalistan has "no military interests" in Southern Seleya, nor does the Empire have political interests. "Egelion's actions appear to be in support of the Canrillaise Empire, which, seems to be moribund at the current matter. Egelion was never part of Canrille, so its unclear why they are taking up the mantle of Canrille at this point. But that being said, member states of the Anantonese Empire certainly were never part of Canrille, and therefore, that issue doesn't concern us." The Chancellor also noted that the new trade agreement with Istalia should not be interrupted by the conflict, as Istalian trade can switch to the northern route up the west coast of Seleya with no additional trouble.

"We are currently watching the situation unfold," said the Chancellor, "and Her Imperial Majesty stated that if Rildanor falls to fascism, regardless of the situation in the war, Kalistan will not hesitate to move to isolate the nation economically. But to this date, we don't see evidence that they have moved toward fascism. Nor is the Kalistani Regular Navy, currently patrolling north of Indrala, more than a thousand nautical miles north of Rildanor, in any danger from being caught up in the conflict. We'll leave it to others to handle."

Empress Welcomes Hurotian Queen to Order
With the marriage of Her Majesty, the Hutorian Queen Arianna to the Kalistani professional golfer Sir David Alvarez-Ananto, a distant cousin to her Imperial Majesty, and much closer relative to most of House Alvarez, Her Imperial Majesty has officially invited Queen Arianna and the now Hutorian Duke David Alvarez to become full members of the Ancient Order of the Gray Smoke, the official Chivalric Order of the Anantonese Empire. Duke David Alvarez will be welcomed to join as a Stranger Knight Companion.

"The Empress does have something else in mind for the Queen," said Lady Helen Ananto-Reynolds, who spoke about Order induction last week in Eveari. "In recognition of the distinct honor bestowed upon House Ananto, and Her Imperial Majesty respectively, of the title Grand Duchess of the Isle of Sutton, Her Imperial Majesty has instructed the construction of a new Rank within the Order specifically for the Queen. The Rank of Knight/Lady Commander of the Order shall be guaranteed to the Reigning Monarch of the Kingdom of Hutori in perpetuity, and shall be inheritable by the Queen's designated heir, along with her other titles. This Rank shall have, in addition to normal regalia of the Stranger Knight/Lady Companion, a special insignia to give it distinction from the rest of the Stranger Knight Rank. The Knight/Lady Commander of the Order rank will be senior to the Stranger Knight/Lady Companion Rank, and will entitle the Holder of the Rank to Familiar Privileges under the House Law of Imperial Protocol, according to the will and Word of Her Imperial Majesty. In short, the holder of the rank will be considered equal to an adopted sibling of Her Imperial Majesty."

This is a tremendous personal honor that Her Imperial Majesty is bestowing upon the Queen of Hutori, and signals a tightening of relations between the two nations. "Her Imperial Majesty feels this is appropriate, given the long standing friendly and cooperative history between Kalistan and Hutori. The relation between the two nations is hundreds of years old, consists of significant cultural, economic, military and other personal exchange. The Royal Family of Hutori holds land in Ananto, and House Ananto holds title to Icehaven in Hutori and now to the Isle of Sutton. Creating this rank in the Chivalric Order that acknowledges this close personal relationship between these two families makes sense at this time." The Induction will occur in August this year in Eveari, and at the same time, Her Imperial Majesty has authorized the Baronetcy of Raven's Head to aggrandize from 250 acres to 1000 miles of adjacent territory between the coast and the foothills of the Green Mountains in Green County.

Crown Prince Joins NSP
His Highness the Crown Prince Fredrick David Ananto-Collins, 18, has officially entered service in the NSP this month. He will do his basic training at Ananto Corps Camp 3 outside of Eveari, and then will drop to his service school. "I am not sure what I will do," said the Crown Prince, when speaking about his coming service last month. "Its my hope that I do something with the Sea. But really it could be anything. It's all based on aptitude anyway. They try to take my interests into account, with both the needs of the service, and my natural capabilities also weighing on the Steering process."

The Crown Prince will put in his time for the next four years after which time he said he wants to go to College, and will likely study Policy. "I'm kind of expected to learn finance," said the Crown Prince. "But I told my mother, and my cousin that I don't really have a mind for money. I think I am more interested in both foreign and public policy. I want to focus on improving social services for the poor in this nation, and how to keep peace with our neighbors. My Mother always said that her biggest weakness was that she never really cared for school and opted to not even go to College. So she suggested that I learn policy so I will make better choices than she made. Though I think she's done well even without the school. But I also imagine how great she would have been with some more formal training too."

While in the NSP, a lot of the Protocol around the Imperial Family is relaxed, and the Crown Prince will be known as Conscript Ananto, by his rank, as all other members of the NSP who are not lifers. Nobody is required to salute him, or call him by any special appellation, however the law of knowingly harming a member of the Royal Family is still in place. The NSP has long worked with the Royal Family as successive generations of Anantos and Alvarez' have served.

But NSP Governors are clear that there is to be no favoritism toward any Ananto during service. "I expect to be treated as anyone of my same rank while in Service," said the Crown Prince. "I see this as a civic duty: it is the small service that I and tens of thousands of young Kalistanis render each year that allows Kalistanis of all classes to live well. We owe this short stint to our nation, and if we do our part we not only have bought and paid for our stake in this society, but we can call ourselves Citizens of the Empire. Whatever our life is afterward, that title is something that nobody can ever take from us, not a foreign power, not a dictator. Though I will be Emperor, I will make lifelong friends and new brothers in sisters in the NSP. And I am proud to be of service to my Empire."