Egelion

[Louis]

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The Palace of Sorsuela has announced the engagement of the Prince of Amateria and Princess Anastasia Alexanderovna of Nadiya. The couple announced their marriage this morning after an official statement by the palace, followed by a heavily-liked social media post. Princess Anastasia is from the house of Rothingren-Traugott-Ludvig, survivors and legitimate heirs from the old Trigunian monarchy. The house rested and stayed vigilant in hiding until the recent civil war which saw the rise of Nadiya and the end of the Tsardom. The Princess travelled to study in Altea when she was younger, here she met the young prince, which studied at the same prestigious school. Their close friendship took them to study at the University of Norterra, where their relationship took a secretive and serious turn. 

The 21 year old prince is set to marry the princess next year at the Basilica of Our Lady of Egelion, next to Villamor Palace. According to the Palace of Sorsuela, invitations are set to go out next week for the celebration. A holy mass will be followed by a large party at Villamor Palace according to early reports. For now the young couple will celebrate and enjoy their recent engagement. Prince Artemio has postponed his required military service until after his marriage, per the palace. 

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[Louis]

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The futures of Egelion and Nadiya were secured this morning after the Prince of Amateria, Artemio, married princess Anastasia Alexandrovna of Nadiya at the Basilica of Our Lady of Egelion in central Altea. The wedding was televised to millions of watchers worldwide, automatically becoming one of the most watched royal weddings in recent history. Beginning at 6 in the morning, members of the Royal Guard's Band-in-March, paraded through the streets of Altea's Royal District. They marched from Villamor Palace to Arteaga Palace, looped through the Plaza of the Lion, and returned on the Camino del Rey boulevard back to Villamor. The streets were full of residents, eagerly awaiting to see the royals from Egelion and from all other countries.

At 9 am, state officials from several countries were transported to the royal district in several luxury state vehicles. They travelled down El Camino del Rey towards the basilica. People cheered on as they saw several recognizable monarchs such as the Emperor of Luthori and the Empress of Kalistan. The crowds followed the procession to the royal district where most festivities would take place. The Office of the Royal House released a full list of all guests that were invited to the wedding. It was a positive sight to see all invited individuals present. 

The mass at the wedding was led by the Arch-Patriarch of Canrille, Clement XII, who was invited by King Romulo and Queen Nicole. Prince Romulo wore a beautiful red prince outfit designed by Agalencia, with his Caillean, golden embroidered cape, with no crown. Princess Anastasia wore a wedding gown designed by ZORA, with thin lace in an old Trigunian-design, and wore a golden ruby tiara, gifted to her by Queen Nicole during her engagement. 

The Arch-Patriarch of Canrille gave a message of hope, of youth, and of peace as he blessed the young couple. He stated that despite cultural differences and the political implications of their marriage, God cannot deny the true love showed by both individuals and the desire they have to improve and help each other. After their vows, rings, and their ultimate kiss. Music began to play, the new Prince and Princess of Amateria bowed and curtseyed for His and Her Majesty in the basilica, then they walked out. They went inside the gilded state coach that were led by beautiful, white horses and their riders. They went down El Camino del Rey to greet Altea and circled back to Villamor Palace to begin the festivities with their guests.



At Villamor Palace, festivities for the marriage went on all day. All guests were invited to the Palace grounds to celebrate the new Prince and Princess of Amateria. All state heads and representatives were led into the gilded doors of the palace and were immediately met with a proper introduction and refreshments. King Romulo and Queen Nicole greeted every single member that was invited to the palace. They had small talk with every member. However, King Romulo held much longer, private talks with three different individuals: King Alexander III of Hutori, Federal President Offenbach of Dundorf, and Empress Mary I of the Anantonese Empire. Each of these individuals took a moment to speak with King Romulo over several subjects, His Majesty changing his outfit each time.

With King Alexander III, Romulo invited him personally to Sorsuela Palace later this year to begin more in-depth cooperation with the Macon nation. He stated that Hutori needed to be closer to Altea for northern security purposes. Romulo then spoke to Feder President Offenback regarding cooperation with Dundorf. Higher Education and cultural services was the topic of discussion with Offenbach. King Romulo recommended the president to have a personal meeting with Royal Councilor Cascabel and the Real Academia after the wedding to sort out Dundorf's increasing interest in education. Finally, His Majesty met with Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I of the Anantonese Empire. This talk was extremely private, according to palace sources. Both however seemed happy and pleased to meet with each other. According to details of their conversation, King Romulo spent much of the time giving his affirmations to the Empress over the geopolitical implication of the marriage. A personal union between Nadiya and Egelion is likely. His Majesty made it clear that Egelion would not change its foreign policy and would instead try to create stronger bridged between the union in Keris and the Anantonese Empire.

In the evening, Prince Artemio gave a speech to all the invited guests stating: 

Although our marriage is set to create a new era of political connections in Terra, I want to reaffirm that under my future reign--disculpeme Majestad--I will keep Egelion's ideals and policies the same. I do not plan to create a villain of Egelion and Nadiya, rather create a model of unity, of cooperation, and of peace. We find ourselves in a time of peace created by leadership found in this room. I plan to work with you all to ensure we maintain the peace and strength through cooperation. Thank you

Following their words, guests were invited to the royal gardens to take part in waltz dancing and more refreshments. By that time in the evening, a firework show began, leaving guests and the city residents in awe. Colorful plosions in the city sky illuminated the gardens and gave residents all the more reasons to continue their festivities into the night. King Romulo and Queen Nicole went around to thank the guests again, which included Nadiya, Luthori, Hutori, Dundorf, Kalistan, Istalia, Utaristan, Bianjie, and Vrosnok. His Majesty remained thankful for all those who attended and took part in all of the day's festivities. The future of Egelion's leadership was surrounded by friends and family alike all in one night. Future details of King Romulo's meeting with Dundorf, Hutori, and Kalistan will be released in future press releases.

[Louis]

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At a press conference outside Castillo Garibaldi, command center for the Egelian Armed Forces, Royal Councilor Montalivet, also known as Duque Felipe, announced major two programs for the Egelian Air Force. The first is a major expansion into hypersonic weaponry. Royal Councilor Montalivet stated that Egelion has been researching and actively looking into the development of hypersonic weaponry. This news came as a shock to the press who believed that the Directory of the Armed Forces had stopped at researching ballistic missiles. However, the duke confirmed that hypersonic research was initiated by King Romulo in clandestine meetings at the Montalivet Estate years ago. 

While the press cannot confirm that such weapons exist, Royal Councilor Montalivet confirmed that there are "early prototypes" created by Grupo Ortega and Leonex. Royal Councilor Montalivet stated that the hypersonic program would need more funding from the Royal Court if it is to be successful, but liberals in the chamber are hesitant as an expansion of the CROWN Social Welfare Net was also expected this fiscal year. Royal Councilor Montalivet stated that Leonex, one of Egelion's main defense providers, were recruiting several engineers and space aeronautic scientists to ensure the hypersonic weapons would be something "viable" for the Royal Air Force. Preliminary research shows that if created, hypersonic weaponry would be integrated into the ATENEA Missile System and exist as an offensive variable. Testing on current hypersonic models will begin next week. Engineers are doubtful on the current models that were introduced.

Leonex was more comfortable in the creation of an unarmed-vehicle fleet for the Royal Air Force. No such program currently exists at Castillo Garbaldi, however, the company says that they could take about three years to begin delivering prototype to the Royal Air Force. Royal Councilor Montalivet stated that once a fully designed drone was created, the royal council on his part, would order 30 UAVs to add to the air force fleets. "It is a necessity to ensure our air force is up to par. Our navy leads in development and modernity, it is time our air force finally reach its full potential", concluded the Royal Councilor.

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[Louis]

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[Louis]

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The National Weather and Climate Service (NWCS) in Altea has issued a LEVEL V storm warning for millions of Egelian residents after radar reports suggested a large winter cyclone would linger over the Egelian skies for two days. The NWCS is responsible for climate studies and meteorology for all of Egelion. They divide the severity of all types of storms within five separate levels. Level I is considered the least severe and urgent while Level V is considered the worst and most life-threatening. Three days ago, experts at the NWCS were tacking a large winter pattern over eastern Nadiya, then classified at a Level III storm. However, as it entered the atmosphere in eastern New Endralon and Kizenia, the storm intensified due to the northerly winds from the Temarian Mountain range and resulted in a rare Level V categorization. 

Upon its arrival in populated metro areas, the storm dropped over 8 initial inches of snow and continued overnight to drop another 7 inches. Residents in the Altea metro scrambled to get supplies and prepare for the intense snowfall that would follow. The Altea City Alcalde (mayor) released a statement online urging all residents in the metro to stay warm and to avoid any travel beyond what was necessary. Individuals at the Altea-Nord Stock Exchange left early yesterday to avoid the initial front of snow coming in from the west. The Real Academia forced all schools in central Egelion to close early and provide students with "synchronous learning" online for two days.

At Sorsuela Palace, King Romulo praised the nation's public services and the Royal Council for being prepared for such a storm. Egelion is well accustomed to the usual winter storms. Adaptability and common sense response policies were established by the Royal Council decades ago. High Councilor Formoselle y Castilla gave a quick statement to the press stating:

Egelion is well prepared to deal with several weather phenomena. Our population is trained from an early age what to do during these situations. We have enough common courtesy and knowledge to remain calm and respond to the worst nature gives us with our best intentions.

Experts and meteorologists at the NWCS believe the worst of the storm will pass in the next day. Snow clean up and response units are already at work keeping streets and major transportation avenues safe. Cities such as Norderms, Egelburgo, and Villa Kinea have not reported any casualties related to the winter storm per the last regional update to the Royal Council.

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[Louis]

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In a rare event, members of the Royal Council requested for King Romulo to call a special session of the Royal Court in order to debate funding for the rest of the fiscal year. Last week, members of the Royalist Party and the Conservative Party compromised on a law recommendation that was sent to the Royal Council. The recommendation included several liberalization reforms and included increased funding towards promoting big businesses--at the cost of axing the nation's city beautification efforts.  The program, which started in the early days of King Romulo's reign, helped bring a sense of culture, beauty, and organization to Egelion. What used to be slums and impoverished communities now consist of well-maintained buildings, beautiful plazas and affordable housing. These accomplishments came from the nation's efforts in housing and city imagery, the legislative pride of King Romulo himself. Now, members of the Royal Court "insist" that there is high popular opinion regarding the liberalization of the economy and ending housing programs.

Carlos Cortisas, a member of the Conservative Party from the city of Libertaria stated: "We have had enough of housing mandates and programs. We've imported millions of crowns worth of stone, gold, marble, and other materials. We cannot have this going on forever--imagine of the maintenance!". On the contrary, a member of the Caillean People's Party, Leo Serafi, stated: "We need to continue with these housing and architectural programs! Our cities already are experiencing prosperity, they bring in several tourists, and are unique! We rival the splendor that was once found in the cities of old Canrille. We must keep up with this. It is our legacy to do so!"

Debate in the Royal Court took all day. All five members of the Royal Court were there to defend the programs enacted by King Romulo. Royal Councilor Cascabel was the main debater for the council as she is responsible for law recommendations regarding taxation and the Royal Treasury. When given the opportunity to speak, Cascabel defended the housing program and stated that she would "much rather spend billions of crowns improving the look of our homes and cities than lining up the pockets of investors and CEOs in Isidrio" (Isidrio is the royal district of Altea where most banks and major corporation and headquartered)

Royal Councilor Cascabel stated that if the Royal Court were to pass the recommendation, she would personally see its downfall and reject all measures of the law. Royal Court members say that the rejection of the law would mean the councilor would be "directly going against the popular opinion in Egelion". Yet, insiders at the Royal Court state that there is no major opinion regarding the nation's beautification programs, nor is there a consistent effort by groups to get rid of it. As of 5650, most cities in Egelion have been significantly impacted by the housing program in positive ways. Besides creating an image of splendor and absolutism in Egelion, it has led to the direct improvement of the people of Egelion. A political battle of culture vs. economy seems to be gearing up in the kingdom.

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[Louis]

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This morning at El Palacio del Instituto, the home of the Institute of Egelian Diplomacy, Royal Councilor Mondragon II announced that a full Egelian delegation will engage in three separate state visits down the Anantonese seaboard. Egelion will visit the Anantonese Empire and the nation of Baltusia to cement what the Royal Councilor claimed to be "strategic and profound partner nations". The Royal Councilor was joined by Alicia Machado and Fernanda Casillas, who are the Ambassadors to the Imperio Anantones and the Kingdom of Baltusia respectively. they were summoned to Altea by the Royal councilor to announce the decision to visit the Anantonese region.

Royal Councilor Mondragon stated that it was King Romulo's "Personal desire" to visit the region since his meeting with Her Imperial Majesty, Mary I at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Amateria. High Councilor Formoselle y Castilla stated that King Romulo and Queen Alicia are prepared to return to Ananto following years of "staying at home". It is unknown if the Prince and Princess of Amateria will join this trip as both have been summoned to Nadiya to claim the throne following the abdication of Tsarina Maria. According to details given by Mondragon II, the visit will begin in Kalistan, work its way to Gaduridos, and end in Baltusia.

His Majesty claimed that during his trip to Cerro del Mar Palace in Cartablanca, he spoke with some locals to become more acquainted with the more marine-influenced life in the city. According to his personal statements, the people of Cartablanca would like to be more "in-tune" with Anantonese Ocean culture. The visit to the southern regions will help with the diffusion of culture--just as locals on the coast desire. Provisions of cultural diffusion via the Real Academia were previously discussed during the diplomatic meeting in Altea for the Oceanic Accord-- which ended in a successful and stable peace between Kalistan and Egelion. If all goes to plan under Mondragon's preparation, a stronger bond and relationship will exist between the northern and southern Anantonese Ocean regions, leaving political analysts to consider: are there other regions in Terra with stronger bonds than the entire Anantonese Ocean region?

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[Louis]

After months of new proposals, compromise budget changes, and even local protests, the Royal Council axed any and all proposals set forth by the Royal Council to eliminate the nation's beautification efforts. The decision was made by Royal Councilor Cascabel, who has been the main voice of the council since the proposal was originally brought up a year and a half ago. The delay in a decision by the Royal Council was made possible by Cascabel, who went to the Real Court to convince its members that axing the national beautification effort was not necessary. The Royal Councilor created several discussions among members at the court. She attempted to listen to members of the court who insisted that the public wanted more liberalization into the economy and less spending on national image.

However, upon secret discussions with some members at Arteaga Palace, it was revealed that the Royal Court had no "real clue" of public opinion concerning the beautification efforts. In fact, it was revealed that most of the Egelian public actually supported the nationwide effort to improve the image of Egelion's neighborhoods and cities. The smell of deceit and shady politics reached El Capitolio, leading Royal Councilor Cascabel to end any and all debate on the topic. Parties in the Royal Court have now lost their aspirations of using cultural funds to liberalize the Egelian economy. Protests in front of the Royal Court only enforced this decision. To further bash the liberalization proposal, Royal Councilor Ibarra, in charge of the Royal Treasury and of Taxation, countered the Royal Court saying:
 

His Majesty is well informed of the economic policies he has specifically approved from this court and he is certain that the current direction of the Egelian economy is "socially liberal". Further liberalization efforts and investments into corporations would not only send Egelion towards the grasps of right-wing ideologies, but also make inequality more rampant in our cities--an idea that His Majesty finds preposterous to even mention.

King Romulo summoned Royal Councilor Cascabel to Palace of Sorseula the afternoon of the decision to personally congratulate her and thank her for carrying out his will. King Romulo was well-informed on the debate over the national beautification effort, yet opted not to intervene feeling that this would be a crossroads moment for the aging effort. It appears his decision to not intervene would be successful as the Egelian public, to this day, still actively approve of the beautification efforts. As the smoke from this political showdown begins to subside, journalists are beginning to ask question on how this years-long debate ended: who did Royal Councilor Cascabel meet with at Arteaga Palace that led to the ultimate demise of the proposal and how much influence did the Real Academia have in the end result?

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[Louis]

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Fernando Elizalde, a wealthy 55 year old man from the City of Yadraz, held an important press conference at his company's headquarters in Altea's Isidrio district today, signaling a fresh and robust new beginning. Elizalde is CEO of Aeroleón, Egelion's main civilian aircraft manufacturer and producer. Elizalde announced that Aeroleón will halt it's main ventures into private jets and begin designing and manufacturing large, wide-bodied civilian passenger planes. This change for the company comes at a time of "great irrelevance and outdatedness" for Egelion's own civilian passenger networks. Elizalde went on to tell the press that the company would begin to manufacture "unique, safe, and modern passenger jets" for global airline companies to purchase. Terra's current and outdated production of ADG and Reglair planes forced Elizalde to act--and act with haste. 

What we are doing here at Aeroleón is to satisfy our current needs and the needs of the people of Terra. We have nations who are investing a lot in making sure we use anti-pollutant fuels and other who are simply in need of better services. What we are going to offer is the best of both worlds: why not have new aircraft--safer aircraft that can run on both types of fuel and at the same time deliver quality and comfortable flights?

Elizalde stated that the company is producing four different jets: the the A-2Max, A-3Max, A-4Max, and the A-5Max. These four different passenger jets will be produced at Aeroleón's main facilities in the city of Yadaz. The company believes that it has just begun a new era in airlines, both for safety and quality. Elizalde stated that he would be in contact with Kalistan soon to talk about potential cooperation in providing jets that can use fuel-efficient technology for long haul flights. Employment opportunities at Aeroleón's plants are now open for residents of the nation.

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[Louis]

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The skies have partially darkened over areas of southern Egelion as the smoke and haze of Lodamese wildfires have spread throughout the region. Earlier this morning, the sunrise in the city of Rozevia was extremely hazy as the upper atmosphere began to fill with smoke from Northern Seleya. Residents in the city claimed that the sun appeared "hazy and close" to the actual horizon this morning as the usually visible rays of the sun were blocked. Into the afternoon, the sky seemed a hazy blue with some residents believing the sky would soon be filled with clouds. By the evening, the skies fully darkened and revealed that the full sunlight was being obscured from smoke and haze from the southwest. While news outlets and the press kept the Lodamese wildfire situation in regular circulation, coverage intensified after it was revealed that Altea received a message from Kensington requesting aid to combat the now severe fires in Lodamun.

The message was received at the Palace of the Institute, the home of the IDE. Royal Councilor Mondragon II summoned the Royal Council to an emergency meeting at El Capitolio to authorize the quick mobilization of international aid, spearheaded by the Egelian Royal Emergency Services (ERES). The ERES was created by King Amadeo in response to the disasters created by the seasonal Egelian winter storms. The ERES comes prepared with state-of-the-art equipment and leadership capable of handling most natural disasters, including severe wildfires. Under Bombero General Valverde, a large group of 150 firefighters, 4 helicopters, and 2 large twin engine water jets will depart to Lodamun where they will fall under the helm of Lodamese leadership in order to battle the fires. The ERES also includes a large humanitarian aid segment where food, medicine, temporary housing, and equipment is available to Lodamun. Royal Councilor Mondragon II confirmed this response to the press at El Capitolio today stating: 

This large operation and natural disaster should be a concern to all of us. We are also very used to seeing natural disasters in our country--we understand the large human and economic impact such a disaster can cause. After speaking directly to His Majesty we are available to assist our partners in need--especially one that is also affecting our own nation. Lodamun sent out the call for aid, and Altea will answer.

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