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[Foundhome Republic]

Foundhome National Register
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Unreal Estate
Government officials unconvincingly deny reports of coveting neighbor's stuff.

Balloons float in a dumpster outside the Northern Epillo Congress Party's headquarters in Coralaken F.D. last week. Banners inside the dumpster read "Welcome to the Family, Vin---". It is assumed that the grungy bits were "land," though it could also have read "cent," "essa" or "ny." Our independent researchers were unable to confirm before being chased away by a raccoon.

Coralaken F.D.—Members of the Northern Research & Recovery Corp were unceremoniously rolled out of bed, presented new maps, and told "Go! Go! Go!" last week. As they stumbled out of bed and began exploring the newest territories to be reclaimed by the Foundhome Republic the bleary-eyed explorers could be forgiven for thinking that certain rumors would have meant that they would be having a couple of weeks off. "I mean, I know that we were eventually going to claim this last bit of land to the north attached to our continental territory—that was part of the Republic before the Bad Day after all—but what about this fiddly bit attached to the northwest?" asks expedition quartermaster Steven Huyang as he tries to align his map with his GPS. "I mean, where are we? What even is this island? I thought that we were going to claim parts of Vin..." He is cut off as the other members of the expedition tackle him to the ground.

With fellow Fifth Sovereign Charter member Skjoldur temporarily ceasing to exist earlier this month, rumors of attempts to annex that nation's territory of Vinland began to spread like wildfire across the "bush telegraph" system of Coralaken F.D., and the political "rumor mills" began going into overdrive as assets and funds began moving through the "grey channels" in support of the supposition that the Foundhome Republic had designs on "totally grabbing up all of that sweet, sweet land."

These rumors have been actively squashed and denied by government officials starting the very moment Skjoldur re-integrated itself into the Charter's reality.

"We of course would never attempt to annex the sovereign territory of one of our fellow Charter members!" states a rather sweaty Marton Ngo, Undersecretary for Continental Issues at the Foreign Desk. "Especially not one with whom we have shared a peaceful and mutually beneficial border with since we returned to this planet after the Bad Day. We of certainly did not sit up until the early hours of the morning trying to figure out the quickest way to legally claim all of that territory!" continues Ngo, a pool of perspiration forming under his chair. "We did not begin imagining what it would be like to own the biggest city in Northern Epillo, and have that crucial deep water harbor where merchant ships and ocean liners come and go daily to ports in Jiqaz and Rome under the snapping banner of the Green & Gold Banner. Certainly not!" he states, as he begins to weep gently.

"We accept the reality that Vinland is the legally accepted and sovereign domain of the Jarl of Skjoldur," states National Abolitionist Party Media Liaison Viola Nguyen, her fists clenching. "We accept that the law within that territory is beyond our control, whether we find the treatment of the aboriginal peoples of Epillo under the jackbo... governance of Skjoldur reasonable or not," she states, her jaw clenching and her teeth grinding. "We harbored no fantasy of being able to unshackle the poor "goblins" of Vinland and restoring their civil rights whatsoever, and any reports to the contrary are just wishful thinking... on the media's part and ours" she says before adding, "Did I say that last part out loud? Nuts."

"The interplay between Skjoldur and the Republic along our border has been beneficial to both nations, and has long contributed to the lasting peace experienced in Northern Epillo," said Presidential Media Coordinator Mike Gyunen, "and we certainly do not want to lend any credence to the rumors that we have designs over Vinland. Certainly not! We benefit greatly from the tourism that comes to us from Skjoldur and its territories—you know, the second largest in the charter with the military that is far more modern and much larger than our own— and we wouldn't want to do anything that upsets our relationship. I can personally deny any involvement with the president and my office in particular with any plans to announce any such silly suggestion," he says, refreshing his phone's browser search for "Skjoldur," "Vinland," "Gyunen" and "Fired" several times as he does.

With nations like Aexorouwyth disappearing recently, and the national territory of the Foundhome Republic consisting of lands made up of colonies of defunct national powers that occupied them during the events of the Bad Day, it is reasonable to expect that sometimes whatever makes it so that entire countries disappear off the planet the Fifth Sovereign Charter sits upon would affect the Republic. However, this newest iteration shows that even such events are not irreversible, and that the Foundhome Republic should not give itself over to visions or fantasies of some sort of manifest destiny.

Addendum: Reports in financial media purporting to show that the Register had purchased office space in the largest city in Vinland and a stake in several media outlets in that territory are unrelated to the events described in this article. Really. No, really... we mean it.

—R

[Heartfilia]

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[Foundhome Republic]

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Cease and Estate Sale
The Foundhome Republic is buying what Vinland is selling.

Residents of the former Skjoldurian colony of Vinland are finding buyers for all of their knick—knacks, doodly—bobs, and thermonuclear military systems in the form of Foundhomians who are eager to buy.

Sobabien— Barely had the news that Skjoldur had suffered an instantaneous collapse and geopolitical deletion before Wayne Khuu had dumped all of his stuff out of the back of his station wagon and loaded up the wife and kids and headed into the parts of the former colony of Vinland which are now under Republic administration. "You hear about this kinda thing happening, but you never expect it to be within a day's drive of you... especially not on a holiday weekend. What a break, huh?" When asked what he was hoping to purchase in the former colony, Khuu replied, "Well, you know... stuff. I collect blaseball memorabilia, and my wife Nancy collects those figurines. My boy is really into mountain biking, so we're hoping to find a couple of that line of bikes that Skjoldur was famous for manufacturing. My daughter is hoping to find some early warning/detection systems, or perhaps an AWACS if one can be had at a good price. Kids these days, am I right?"

The suburbs of the coastal cities northeast of Sobabien and across the now-defunct border are seeing an influx of Foundhomians—of both the public and private variety. Government officials are encouraging private citizens to spend money in the recently de-colonized territory as a way to stabilize the region. "It is hoped that immediate Republic investment will have positive repercussions in terms of stabilizing the geopolitical situation and advancing our aims in showing that our administration of Vuonnho—sorry, we're still supposed to call it Vinland for now—can be to the benefit of the indigenous population and the Republic. We want these people to like us," states Foreign Junior Secretary for Development Tuyen Foster. "Plus, where can I find a ceramic Christmas tree at this price in the Republic? Internet listing? Nope. Look at this thing, it's like 40 centimeters tall! Still has most of its little plastic ornaments, too!"

At another nearby garage sale Margaret Tieu gingerly picks through a cardboard box full of Skjoldurian military awards, badges, and medals. "I'm a bit of a military collector, yeah, I'd say so." Hefted across her back are a brace of assault rifles. "I'll donate these at the border, like the government is asking us to do, just to keep them off the black market. Doing my bit, I suppose." She holds aloft a velvet painting of the Jarl of Skjoldur. "What a waste, " she says. "I hope that if the Republic ever has another Bad Day, and we disappear like Skjoldur, or Aexouthwyth, or Cambrius, or any of the others, then at least we're leaving behind a legacy that the people who remain will be proud to boast of and try to maintain. Oh, look! A marine corp badge! Dibs!"

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't here trying to improve relations with the locals," says college student Quan Holdsworth, "but if I'm being super, ultra-honest. I'm hoping to find some of that awesome Skjoldurian thrash metal. On vinyl if I can. I mean, I'll take CD, but vinyl man, it's way better. Maybe some of their death metal, too. Or a current generation multi-role fighter/interceptor. I mean, like, yeah... anything like that. The dorm room could really use a hi-fi system, like with a turntable. Skjoldur made some awesome sound systems. And multi-role fighters, too, I guess."

Looking particularly conspicuous in his Republic uniform, Colonel Adam Giang of the Armed Services Appropriations Department negotiates nearby with the owner of a platoon of particularly vicious looking main battle tanks, but his gaze keeps slipping towards a set of skis on a nearby table. "I'm in uniform just to have it be certain that we aren't doing this under the table, and have it be on record that the Foundhome Republic is working—excuse me, but how much are the skis? Do they come with boots? You'll throw in the boots if I buy the entire battalion?—working with the local people and what passes for local authorities to ensure that whatever technical and military components were left behind after the geopolitical deletion of Skjoldur safely make their way under Republic administration." He smiles happily as the local man presents him with the slightly used but very stylish ski boots.

As the day draws to a close and the traffic at the border backs up with Foundhomians awaiting their turn to get through the checkpoints—their cars full of treasures, keepsakes, and munitions—we catch back up with Wayne Khuu. "Great day!" he states. "I got a lot of stuff! Made some new friends! My son got himself a pretty good bike, and my daughter..."

He smiles as a four engine AWACS aircraft screams overhead, headed towards the nearest Republic airbase.

"...she did pretty well for herself, too!"

—R

[Foundhome Republic]

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Goblin' It Up
Indigenous peoples of the former Vinland territory are happy to fill in for missing former masters.

Day is soon to break across the beach of the territory of Western Vuonnho—that being the parts of former Vinland that the Foundhome Republic has taken into administrative protection this month. The quiet of the pre-dawn hours on the rocky shore is Michael Hau. "The jarlsmen would not leave us alone during the day, and we'd be so tired that we'd sleep all night," he explains. "The time just before the dawn—before we'd be called back to the mine—was really the only time we had to ourselves." With that he turns back towards the hotel, the first lights coming on as tourists from parts of the Foundhome Republic greeting him as he enters the lobby. "It took us a few months to really get people interested in coming," he says, returning bows from some of his employees, "but now that the Republic has begun to administer the region, things are improving markedly."

Hau is one of the indigenous peoples of the former Skjoldur territory of Vinland. While i is debatable as to whether they we actually slaves, the treatment of these peoples were always a matter of friction between the Foundhome Republic and the Jarldom of Skjoldur. "It is something that kept coming up in treaty discussions and normal diplomatic interaction," states Department of the Interior Undersecretary for Development Teo Bronte. "We'd ask about the status of the peoples of Northern Epillo who lived on the land before the Jarl established Vinland, and asked why we never see them on fishing boats or represented in Skjoldur's government. In the end, they'd always change the topic of conversation."

The reality of the situation is that the indigenous peoples of Vuonnho were more or less held in a sort of economic servitude. Forced into menial jobs and unable to climb the socioeconomic ladder out of their condition, it became a case of being viewed as something less than human. In time the derogatory term "goblin" began to be applied to the mostly night-shift working peoples of the territory—a name that was eventually applied to their entire race. "Goblin!" laughs Michael Hua. 'You'd think that they would come up with something better than that."

Today, the old headhouse of the mine is his property. Adaptive reuse of the mine—which was quickly shut down due to unsafe working conditions and toxicity levels far above Republic Safety Standards—was provided for through a Republic Architectural Society grant. "I think things will improve," states Hua. "I have that hope. We've been something other than ourselves for so long... maybe now things will get better."

The sun breaks above him as he smiles and looks at the new hotel. The first guests are making their way to breakfast.

Sobabien—

—R

[Foundhome Republic]

Foundhome National Register
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Ngenlualon (Not Havetskongeby)
Citizens adjust to the name change of Northeast Epillo's Largest City

Workers change the city name on Havetskongeby's Ngenlualon's civic center.

Sobabien— The Foundhome Republic continues to bring territory in Vuonnho—the area once part of the Skoldurian colony of Vinland—under its administration. This month comes as an especially inclusion, as territories that include the largest megalopolis in all of north and east of the continent of Epillo. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, the indigenous peoples of the territory have asked that it be renamed, as the old name was a purely Skoldurian invention, and not named after any local feature. Naturally, this name change is a bit of a shock for those of Skoldurian descent who continue to live in the former colony.

"Ngenlualon was Havetskongeby," says Erik Thur, a noticeable sigh in his voice as he stares at the new flags flying outside the main library building. "Now it's Ngenlualon, not Havetskongeby. It's better off gone, Havetskongeby... now it's the Republics' delight, ain't that right?"

"Every gal in Havetskongeby lives in Ngenlualon, not Havetskongeby," states demographics expert Hyun Brown, director of the Vuonnho Project's inclusion initiative. "So, if you have a date in Havetskongeby, she'll be waiting in Ngenlualon."

"Even old Dyben, was once called Amerak," states Reginald Guygen, member of one of the indigenous tribes who once called the land this massive city was built upon home. "Why they changed it I can't say. People must have just liked it better that way," he adds, apparently unaware of the collapse of that country and how the Republic's northern districts suffered under its rule, much like how his own suffered under Vinland.

"Yo! Take me back to Havetskongeby!" calls out a random protestor, who asked not to be identified. The number who did not support the name change is small but vocal.

"No, we can't go back to Havetsskongeby!" counters a small group of supporters of the name change. The police keep the groups separate before both disperse.

"It's better off gone.... Havetskongesby," states local fitness instructor Jessica Ruegyn, as she sits and enjoys a meal at a sidewalk restaurant. "Why did Havetskongesby get the works? 'Cause the Jarl acted like a jerk!"

"Ngenluanlon!" shouts the nearby crowd before the sounds of the megalopolis once again blanket all.

—R

[Foundhome Republic]

Foundhome National Register
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Sea Change
Republic administration over Northern Vuonnho brings a new climate zone—and new entrees—into the nation diet.

Long captivated by the ocean, the Foundhome Republic gets a taste of what Northern Vuonnho's colder waters offer.

Ngenlualon—"I guess that you can say that I'm on a seafood diet," states Department of Natural Resources Field Agent Tori Gyuen. "When I see food, I eat it." Gyuen has been busy doing just that as of late. The newest part of the former Vinland colony—now called Vuonnho—to be put under Republic administration has been giving her a lot of opportunities to put her skills to the test. "We've always gotten most of our protein from the ocean," she continues, watching with bated breath as a waiter at the restaurant where the interview was taking place rotated her next bit of business on a skewer and applied a butter-basil based glaze. "The savannas and forests of the rest of the Republic have been very good to us in terms of fruit and cereal crop productions, but nobody is out there running down wildebeests and giraffes as part of their three daily meals. We have the best food diversity in all of the New Sovereign Charter, but even with that being said we still have a long way to go. Terrestrial protein has always been a bit of a scarcity, and is often reserved for the tourist trade. Avian and oceanic sources of protein have always been our specialty, and now with more of Vuonnho coming under our sway we can see what the cold water varieties can offer and what we have on the table." Not long after that, her order arrives, and it smells amazing.

Farther up the coast the R.C.G.C. Vigilant goes about its duties. Docking at the slip of an unassuming fishing village the cutter's gangplank comes down and soon Captain Phen Michaelson is meeting with local leaders and fishing crews. "The Foundhome Republic is noted for its stringent environmental protection laws," states Captain Michaelson. In his role as local designate of the Department of Oceanic Conservation, Captain Michaelson must see to the delicate balance between the ever-increasing demands of a growing Republic's food intake and the need to maintain a healthy oceanic ecosystem. "These folks are only used to meeting quotas imposed on them by Skoldurian overseers. Conservation is a new concept. We need to show them that it's better to work smarter, and not necessarily work harder." When asked about the challenges presented to the Republic Coast Guard operating in colder northern waters for the first time, Michaelson puts on a brave face. "It will take some time to implement a new operations handbook, and training in these conditions is a first priority. The people of the Republic can count on their coast guard to see to the safety of our environment, commerce, and recreation in any climate. Sure wish I had been issued a warmer jacket though!"

The vast city of Ngenlualon has barely disappeared in the distance as the train makes its way along the coast, and already the stark coastline and dense forests of this part of Vuonnho close in around the right-of-way. Even at 175KPH it will still be over a half-hour before the next city of any size is reached. Rather than the warm pools of azure that the ocean presents in the southern parts of the Foundhome Republic,the white-capped waves and gray waters seem imposing. "This is an Oceanic climate," states Climatologist Morris Kwyun, "so it is very different from the oceans that have sustained us so far, and of course a completely different environment than the freshwater lakes and rivers that deliver up the salmon and trout that we've taken for granted." Kwyun goes on to explain how climate affects the species that live in these coastal waters, and how that may affect a change in the Foundhomian diet in the years to come. "If we're careful, we can use this as an opportunity to take pressure off of the species we've been using so far, and give them a chance to catch up. We like to pretend that we're Environmentalists, but we're really just self-conscious Conservationalists. If we were serious about putting the planet first we would be eating insect-sourced protein, like we suggested nearly two years ago. I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten any crickets today." As the train begins to lean into a broad curve, a tiny village flashes past. In its harbor the passengers get a 3/4 view of local fishing boats, which elicit a sigh from Kwyun. When asked if he believes that the Republic can find that balance, Kwyun states, "We may be in a better starting place than most, but it will take a lot of work, and a shift in thought... a sea change, if you will."

—R