Ventium, capital city Lon Fen arrived in Ventium with relatively little fanfare, having only himself and a handful of attendants with him. The telegram from the Tsar had caught the eye of Chancellor Zhan Arika and others. Here perhaps was a way for Xulao to develop its infrastructure and gain the respect of other nations. But there would be negotiation required before they could accept the Tsar's offer. Points needed to be clarified and intentions judged, and that was Lon Fen's job. The middle-aged man wore the traditional priestly garb of his people: long robes embroidered in green, he rapidly graying hair tied into a tight knot atop his head. Behind him was his new assistant (his last one having been promoted) and a bodyguard. He knew this particular woman; she had fought in several engagements he had been part of, and was by all accounts a seasoned veteran of warfare. Unfortunately she was still not seasoned at wearing her new uniform, and distracted herself by letting her eyes constantly wander. "Remember, do not speak unless spoken to during our audience with the Tsar." He chided both of them. "This appointment is essential to the future of Xulao, and we must make sure to maintain all proper decorum during it." "Of course, sir." The assistant answered prettily, while the other woman more grumbled it. ------------- Naarden, Naarden Peninsula, NFRU “It is an honor to meet you, Lieutenant Proletariat-General. I am Zho Czinya, handmaiden of empress Cyzin Ao.” She returned the bow with the impeccable form that only an official handmaiden could, every muscle and movement carefully controlled and measured. And it was not just her movements that were refined; every aspect of her appearance and manner was obviously the subject of meticulous control: from the styles and colors of her green-and-red robe and her carefully chosen accessories of gold and gemstones, to the very slight but formal accent of her speech. She paused just long enough for the crowd to take in the sight. A gentle smile as the cameras flashed. Behind her were several ministers, lackies and guards – a full diplomatic envoy. Xulao was not yet comfortable sending its leaders about without protection, even in the NFRU. They were still prime targets for Irodein agents. “I would be honored to accept your offer. There is much to speak of and little time to do so. Let us be on our way.”

Radio Address by Archon Antiochus Soter, in the aftermath of the fall of Ulon. "My fellow Malassans. I fear a shadow has fallen upon Kervan; there is not a man alive who knows what Brouges and Syndintern intends to do tomorrow, much less five years hence, neither does a man know the limits, if there be any, to their eschatological, proselytising propensity. More so than ever, peace's lifegiving warmth, which so happily we have basked in, is threatened by the spectre of a global war of annihilation. The spectre is raised over every nation, state, and people, raised by the governments of many nations all in rapid succession falling to the syndicalists. But here I should be clear: There is no love lost between Malassan freedom and the authoritarians the Syndicalists have overthrown. So if the Syndicalists were not themselves authoritarian, I would applaud. If they were not themselves warmongers with the lowest regard for human lives, I would applaud. If they were not attempting to supplant liberty itself the world over with their perverse ideology, I would be praising them with the highest accolades my language permits me to bestow. Instead they unite, against each of their national and human interests, to subjugate the world and divide the spoils unto themselves. To exterminate those "vermin" who choose to be ruled differently than an intelligentsia in far away Brouges thinks they ought. Storied nations such as Naarden, Flamardie, Vallonia-Picardie, Dereham, Aldan; All are subject to an increasing measure of control from Brouges. The Brouges-dominated Dereham government has been compelled to throw away useful land and astronomical sums of treasure on a canal that will not contribute to the defense or economy of Dereham in a meaningful way all for the sake of a futile syndicalist effort to wrest the Northern Ocean from its historical guarantor, the republic we call home. On the other hand I must repulse the idea that a global war is inevitable; though it may be imminent. I am sure it can be avoided because I am equally as sure that our fortunes are still in our own hands and that we hold the power to save the future, that I feel the duty to speak out now that I have the occasion and the opportunity to do so. I do not believe that Brouges desires war. What they desire is the spoils of war and the indefinite expansion of their doctrines. But what we have to consider here to-day while time yet remains, is the permanent prevention of war and the reestablishment of conditions of freedom and democracy as rapidly as possible in all countries which we can. Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them, nor by burying our heads in the proverbial sand. They will not be removed by merely waiting to see what happens with hope in our hearts, nor will they be removed by a policy of appeasement. What is needed is a settlement, and the longer this is delayed, the more difficult it will be and the greater the risks will become. This settlement cannot be predicated on the balance of power. A balance of power, especially in a bipolar system, that is, all the syndicalists vs all the non-syndicalists, is the worst idea imaginable. Nations do not wage war when they are certain to lose, but when there is a reasonable chance of success. The free states must band together to ensure preponderance, and thus overwhelm the Syndicalists should they try any more conversion by force. I go now, to hopefully join with the remaining leaders of the free world and draw a line deep into the sand. We can, and unless we plan on war, we must, accept the heretofore de jure expansion of Syndicalism as fait accompli, but we cannot allow them to advance to one more nation. Not one more nation, not one more capital, not one more city. Thank you, and God bless Malassa."

International Radio Broadcast of the United Industrial Workers ón behalf of the Revolutionary Syndicalist International. Origin of Transmission: UIW Local 12 Headquarters (Arzon). Transcript of a speech by UIW President and RSI Communist Party Chair Brianne Corre, translated and relayed to all Syndintern member-unions.

“Fellow self-organized workers of the world: Sadly, class-consciousness is not ours alone. The international bourgeoisie was fractured and factional at the time of our first Revolutions, and the aristocracy only united at a regional level. Their disunity was our opportunity, and now six proletarian republics and countless self-managing cooperatives and unions have reclaimed that which was justly ours all along: The means of production, the freedom to organize, and democracy in the workplace. “But now, seeing the tide of liberation on the horizon, the capitalist exploiters and political puppet-masters and military enforcers of the bourgeois republics look to one another for support. They are beginning to speak together with one voice and act with one mind. Even old aristocrats prefer to submit to their former bourgeois enemies rather than give a single concession to the working class. Such we see in Colongo, where the Ventian Tsar sends his legions to slaughter Usonians at the beck and call of his Ereatian superiors. “But nowhere is the new class unity of the international bourgeoisie more clear than in the words of their puppets: Political figureheads. They are so desperate to discredit us that they blatantly project their own evils onto their conjured-up image of Syndicalism. The recent radio address by Archon Antiochus Soter is a prime example. “He speaks of the threat of global war to the 'warmth of peace,' without mentioning that he and his kin already started a global war. They expropriated the peasant, disinherited the artisan, and starved the new class of landless laborers they created in the name of 'progress' and 'industry.' They deprived these workers of every right and freedom in the name of 'efficiency.' So we toil in fifteen-hour workdays for pennies, our every movement regulated by 'expert managers' who push us to the verge of death by exhaustion. So we are forced to beg or steal for bread, so that the Archon and his capitalist friends may feast and enjoy every perverse delight they can buy with granaries and warehouses full of the products of our labor. And then of course there is Imperialism, the colonization of rightfully-sovereign peoples, who the capitalists bleed dry to enrich themselves even further or, for the more clever among them, bribe us workers with breadcrumbs to stave off revolt. “Is this not war on the greatest and most atrocious of scales? Or do the countless dead from overwork, careless industrial accidents, needless famine, noxious chemicals, and the callous military suppression of all resistance not count? But even then, they would have to account for the horrors of colonial war forced upon proletarian conscripts and indigenous peoples. “So the capitalist or aristocrat who accuses Syndicalism of fomenting war is either lying or hopelessly ignorant. The War of the Classes began hundreds of years ago; the only difference now is that we have the means to even the playing field. “But let us examine another claim made by the respectable Archon. Malassa, he declares with passion, stands for freedom, and would gladly befriend the proletarian republics of the world if only they were not authoritarian themselves. Even more ludicrously, he claims that Brouges has been imposing its will on those republics! Personally, I would ask that the honorable Archon make a visit to Liberated Territory before spewing slander and bourgeois propaganda. But I doubt that would change his tune: He speaks not with his own voice, but with that of the Bourgeois Class. To the Bourgeois, 'democracy' is all about paper cards and voting booths. To the Bourgeois, 'freedom' is the simple formula of might equals right. He has no concept of democracy in the workplace and the housing-block, so he reels in disgust at the achievements of Workers' Councils and housing collectives. He has no concept of collective freedom: Freedom from want, freedom in mutual aid, freedom to organize, freedom to strike and protest, freedom to reap the full benefits of the fields and factories we work. “What the Archon defends is only freedom and democracy in the narrowest, cruelest sense. Freedom to enslave, and the right to choose your favorite of two or three wealthy pawns who will never have the faintest idea of how we live and how we think. It is a flimsy veil to the world's true authoritarianism: International Capitalism. And the Revolutionary Syndicalist International, not only in Brouges but in every corner of this Earth, is one of the few but ever-growing people's movements that oppose this authoritarianism. Alongside us in the struggle are our comrades in the Usonian Communist Party, the Esperantist Commune, and countless smaller organizations whose contributions we must never discount. To call any of these organizations authoritarian is a contradiction in terms: We are federations of self-organized laborers in worker councils, self-organized peasants in village cooperatives, self-organized slum and street residents in mutual aid societies and housing collectives, and self-organized survivors of imperialism in national liberation movements. The very heart of our movements is the fundamental principle of democratic self-determination. “So, of course, the Archon must lie to make his point. He claims that Brouges forced a canal project on Dereham, when the reality is quite the opposite. Syndintern made a concession to the Republic of Dereham by choosing to contribute resources to a project which the Republic was already intent on, in return for Dereham's decisive commitment to worker ownership and management of the economy. The Archon also claims that Brouges has imposed controls on Naarden, Flamardie, and the other republics of the Northern Federation. Perhaps if he had a slightest idea of life in Liberated Territory, he would know that the NFRU is perhaps the most decentralized of any state in the world. The republics' autonomy, like syndicalist workers' autonomy, is the very ideal of freedom and justice. Perhaps the honorable Archon has confounded national centralization with Class Unity, no doubt because his own Class Unity depends on such heavy state repression. “But we, the United Industrial Workers and all our comrades in the International, we are not united by the power of police and surveillance and court injunctions. We are not united by any state machinery, benign or evil. We are united by the Work Exchange, the Labor Union, and class-conscious federation and re-federation of our many organizations into a global movement for the overthrow of tyrants like the bourgeois cronies and aristocratic reactionaries the Archon represents. “ALL POWER TO THE COUNCILS! ALL POWER TO THE UNIONS!”

-In the original recording of the speech in Cournaillais, applause is audible immediately after the final shout. This is absent in the translated transcript aired outside of Cournaille.-

Naarden, Naarden Peninsula, NFRU With proper introductions afforded the Proletariat-General, Inspector-General, and Zho Czinya were directed to the modest vehicle provided by the Naarden Republic's diplomatic ministry; a four door automobile with a simple Naarden Flag emblazoned on the side of the driver's door. As soon as they were bustled inside Erhard Brant took the time to open his briefcase and retrieve the appropriate paperwork necessary for continued discussion on the matter. The moment the vehicle's engine was revved and the automobile was in motion the Proletariat-General turned to Zho, offering the paperwork. "This, Mevrouw Czinya, is a copy of the offers granted by the Republic Representatives to me to share, in turn, with you and your government. Along with it is a unique offer that may hold some merit to you and your esteemed Empress. I shall speak on that first, if I may: With the referendum to see Damiaan Ferdinand Gerd van Haanrath reinstated to position as Prince of Naarden there arises a unique opportunity. The son of Damiaan, Bastiaan Alfons Braam van Haanrath, would be reinstated to position of prince underneath his father and would, indeed, be an eligible bachelor for Empress Cyzin Ao; considering he is only sixteen a royal union could be quite fitting. Such a union would show the world that you are not some backwater slave to the Irodein imperialist pigs to the South. Which of course brings me to another matter of note: My government intends to express it's recognition of your sovereign status as a people and state as soon as this diplomatic is over, provided you do not appear to be Imperialist puppets come only to insult us. This, of course, is obviously not the case. Beyond that, the Republican Representatives have given the Federal Government the go ahead to officially enter a defensive alliance with Cyzin with the interest of protecting a people newly freed from tyranny by their own hands. Along with such an offer comes a proposal: the Gezamenlijke Speciale Tactiek Opleidingsschool trains the greatest soldiers in the Syndicalist world, perhaps even the world at large, and the military command from the school has seen opportunity in offering you such elite forces to fill the role of military advisers to see your military modernized. With such training would obviously come the equipment required for such modernization for decreased prices. The Federal Government would as well seek to help industrialize your nation by giving member unions rewards for expanding into your nation, bringing trade and increased infrastructure paid for by said unions. There stands, beyond this, one more course of action that may appeal to you. Though my government is willing to aid you to a great extent your economic policy remains an issue with RSI. If your nation was to implement Syndicalist styled ideals, most notably democratic workplaces rather than managerial run work places and the legalization of Unions within your country, the other Syndicalist countries would get behind you. As well as this, RSI would officially designate you a revolutionary state much like the Republics once were, over two decades ago. With such a designation you would receive arms, supplies, medical aid, and an assortment of other boons: all this requires is economic concessions for the working people. Along with this, membership with RSI would be offered and as such the military protection that grants. The Irodeins would be hard pressed to fight against the Cyzin, Dereham Republic, Federal military forces, and numerous other armed forces capable of defending each other's shores. Obviously we would not expect you to accomplish such feats but steps taken towards such endeavors would certainly garner much friendship from the Syndicalist states."

Ventium, Verveaux, Ventian Capital Morning was dreary and grey, overcast thick in the sky and letting only the slightest amount of light through, it was meant to be bright out but it felt like a perpetual dawn instead. The royal siblings were in their individual places of work, reading, signing papers and doing generic work that ran the kingdom. However their seemingly uneventful morning was broken when messengers came through their doors, bearing word of a foreign delegation at the Airship Port. Throwing their trench coats on, they called more mounts to be waiting for them at the doors of their individual places of business, mounting the mechanical horse, they galloped to the down the main street, coming together mid way to the port. "Does anyone know who's arrived?" yelled Ericlis, over the rushing wind, everyone shook their heads and shrugged until his sister rode up from a side street with an answer. "It's a delegation from the Cyzin Federation, they are here to discuss the terms of father's economic plan!" she headed the group of riding royals and soon the Airship port was in view.  The group stopped and powered off their horses, making themselves look presentable before they made it up the arrival platform and stood in front of the delegation. Katarinda was clearly the most comfortable with  the mannerisms of politics and gave a deep bow to Lon Fen, the rest of the siblings followed suit, "Welcome to Verveaux, your excellency, I am Katerinda Ventus and these are my siblings, we've taken it upon ourselves to receive you here." Overwatch, 50,000 feet above Colongo The Tsar gently maneuvered the the Gyrokopter into the docking bay, dabbing and tapping the control stick with practiced ease, he assumed that the priminister was comfortable in the back of the vehicle. The landing skids touched down on the metal deck and crew members rushed to the whirlybird bird to snap open the doors and let the leaders out. As Voltus touched down, another Gyrokopter took off, heading to the dock to pick up another foreign representative. Climbing out of the Gyrokopter, Voltus welcomed Priminister Wilde on to the ship, "Welcome to overwatch, Mr Priminister." he said with a smile, helping the politician out of his seat and onto the metal deck, "shall we get to the meeting room?"

Ventium, Verveaux, Ventian Capital

"It is my pleasure." Lon Fen bowed again with immaculate form. "I am Lon Fen, Court Chaplain to her Imperial Majesty Cyzin Ao."

"Your offer caused quite a stir in Xulao. It is most generous and worthwhile. I have been sent on behalf of her Highness' government to clarify key points and, hopefully, to finalize a possible agreement. We can of course speak of the details later - the pier is not a particularly comfortable location to participate in statecraft."

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Naarden, Naarden Peninsula, NFRU

Czinya read over the document swiftly, more intent on her counterpart's words than the fine print. There would be ample time to hash over details later - substance was what mattered now.

"Your offer is generous, although there are some potential issues.

:First off you must be aware that Xulao is, by culture and custom, a matriarchal society. If prince Von Haanrath were to marry our empress he would give up his own name and become a Cyzin. Given our dual needs it would be acceptable if the sons of the union followed the Von Haanrath line while the daughters took the Cyzin name."

"It is also essential to the dignity of the imperial line that the empress follow custom and take multiple husbands. We would be willing to give the Prince the title of Imperial Consort, to refrain from arranging any other foreign marriages with the Empress, and to delay any further marriages until after a Von Haanrath heir has been produced. I understand that these customs may be strange to you, but they are necessarily in keeping with imperial tradition."

Verveaux, Ventium, Ventian Capital

Katerinda nodded, as a breeze blew past the them and ruffled her black trench coat, "unfortunately I have not brought enough mounts for his excellency and delegation," she stopped for a moment to think and looked down the Zeppelin Port, a few crafts down was a light skif often used by the family to get between towns rather quickly, she had an idea, "Though I'm sure his excellenncy found flight from The Federation tiring, would he consider a shorter one? 20 minutes at most." She was hoping he would, not wanting to have to wait any longer for extra mounts to be brought over, and look like a fool. The wind blew by again and this time, pulled her white, pigmentless hair out from it's position tucked into the trenchcoat, she quickly bunched it up and thrusted it back into the back of the trench coat, "Crewmen! Ready the Galavant!" she yelled to some of the port workers, watching them ready the Skif.