[center][h3]The Sultanate of Tin[/h3][/center] [center][b]Saroy City Royal Palace[/b][/center] The dragon rested in the callused palm of Babur's hand. A fine piece of metalwork it was: a handmade metal dragon forged from solid gold, enameled with several priceless jewels. The flat dragon had each an every scale painstakingly apparent, two magnificently large and finely cut rubies for brazen eyes, its claws extended for prey and its maw wide open, complete with teeth forged from white platinum. The thing's tale was long, flat, and pointed. The small metal dragon, or rather its tail, was the royal letter opener. There was a [i]royal letter opener[/i], and the tiny thing was no doubt worth more than the average man's house. Somewhat disgusted by his own ostentatious wealth, Babur promised himself that he would donate alms to the poor later that day. He then proceeded to jab the golden letter opener into the ornate envelope that had been delivered to his desk from KalMea. After ripping it open, he pulled out the letter within. He analyzed the letter's contents beyond thoroughly, meticulously taking in each sentence one by one. So the KalSol offered his assurances that the problem would be resolved, claimed that he had a means of fixing the problem, then refrained from so much as to enlightening a fellow sovereign as to what he might do, for supposed security reasons. [i]For security reasons.[/i] As if he had not the slightest trust in the Sultanate's good intentions or intelligence, as if the KalSol had expected the Sultan leak word or be in cohorts with Kal extremists. The rest of the letter was polite enough, yet the implications of 'security reasons' were enraging. Perhaps Tin could have been of some assistance to any plans had they been informed of what said plans were, but of course Babur doubted that the Kallabis intended to take any course of action at all. Perhaps he would be pleasantly surprised by some steps that the KalSol would take, but the Sultan wasn't holding his breath. With a sigh, he set about doing his own work. He had three formal invitations written: one for the Tsar of Ventium, one for the President of Dong Wei, and another to the KalSol, though Babur did not deign to add anything their previous exchange in this letter to the KalSol. The letters were invitations for these leaders to come to Saroy City for diplomatic talks, specifically concerning the Zanjir Islands and Yllendthyr's 'unlawful occupation' of what Tin perceived to be its lands. While the invitations did not mention it specifically, any leader that accepted the Sultan's invitation wouldn't be wrong to assume that the topic of Avalia and the PRK might come up as well. It went without saying that the leaders would be under Babur's protection if they entered Tin, but it was put in wording as well. Tin had something of a reputation for being hostile to foreigners and invitations to visit were rare indeed, so Babur intended to be particularly welcoming with his wording. After all, it would be something of a diplomatic blow and an embarrassment to the nation if word got out that one of the invited leaders chose not to attend the talks. When that task was done and those letters were sent, Babur still had more work to do. There was one more letter to write, though this one would not go down on paper. Rather, it would be sent via telegraph to the Tinite ambassador within Yllendthyr, and then translated into elven and sent to the elven emperor, prime minister, and several other high-ranking national officials. Granted, neither Babur nor his council thought anything would come of this message (Tolon Bey, the minister of diplomacy, went so far as to label it as an outrageous threat that could spark a war) but Babur reasoned that it was worth sending. Of course, the elves would never willingly cede their colony, but at least it would give Tin the right to say that they had tried to handle the situation with diplomacy. [hider=The Letter to the Heavenly Empire of Yllendthyr] Under our previous Sultan you were allowed to violate our sovereignty unstopped, by illegally occupying lands in the Zanjir Archipelago. This shall remain tolerated no longer, for the new Sultan is determined to take a firm stand against transgressions against great Tin and the Men of the Dragon. It is well known in international circles that Tin laid claim to those islands first and that the land is rightfully theirs, and so from henceforth, the Sultanate of Tin hereby demands that you cease and desist your colonization efforts. In His great empathy and understanding, Sultan Babur shall allow you two years to carry out decolonization of the Zanjir region. After this time is expired, you are ordered to formally cede all of your unlawfully owned lands to the Sultanate. Furthermore, local garrisons in the Zanjir have reported a sudden increase in native uprisings. A bombing has recently occurred in the provincial capital, and numerous rebels have been apprehended and found with military grade weaponry and explosive devices. The local viceroys remain confident that these implements of terror and destruction are not being smuggled into the Zanjir through our ports, and so it stands to reason that Yllendthyr has been arming rebels within Tinite lands and inciting unrest, or allowing others to do so from elven-controlled parts of the island. In either case, the Sultan demands that your nation immediately take steps to halt this terrorism and gross violation of international law.[/hider]