The Cold Fields of Coldfield

[Allanea]

The Free Kingdom of Allanea if well-aware of the threat posed to the world by international Communism, and global radical Jacobinism. Our nation has unfortunately hosted thousands of refugees from countries where radical Jacobinism, totalitarian Communism, or combinations of these movements have taken root. Terrorists spawned by these groups have repeatedly struck in Allanea, in Reichskamphen, and in Menelmacar. The knife, the guillotine, the lime pit - these are the forms of equality that are brought forth by these people.

Communist groups have repeatedly attempted to extinguish the light of liberty in Allanea. At times they’ve come close to succeeding, and at one point even managed to spark a brutal civil war. They have invaded our nation by the million, and millions of Marxist-Lenininist troops lie in the deep blue sea in our shores.

Yet the Free Kingdom remains, and the light of our liberty glows still against those who would extinguish it.

Now - as again we’ve stressed - the priority of our goals is not those peaceful socialist regimes and groups who work tirelessly against slavery and fascism. It is those who sponsor mass-murder, democide and genocide in the false name of equality. These we promise to make truly equal. Equal in death.

In light of these priorities, we are happy to announce that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Free Kingdom hereby adds the Icy Mountains People's Army of Coldfield, a Stalinist organization lead by a leader known as ‘Amaranthinos’ to the Free Kingdom’s list of Hostile and Terrorist Organizations. Any person supplying this organization, providing it with funds or equipment or training of any kind, will be viewed by the Free Kingdom as an accomplice thereof.

Moreover, the Free Kingdom hereby takes up the following measures:

1. We hereby offer a reward of five million New Dornalian dollars for information leading to the capture or elimination of Amaranthinos.

2. We hereby offer the Republic of Coldfield a one-time grant of 100 MA92A2 wheeled APCs in various configurations, for use either by its military or law enforcement.

3. We hereby also offer the Republic of Coldfield to send a small team of 150 special forces operatives to help combat the ICPA, and also offer to aid in training their military and law-enforcmeent in counterterrorist operations.

4. We also would like to negotiate additional forms of assistance we could provide.

[Coldfield]

The Kingdom of Coldfield, led by King Edmund Meyer, the Clever - also manager of the Archery, Association Football, and Boxing national associations/teams - is aware of the danger the Icy Mountains People's Army (in their mother tongue, Iey Campa Pipo Assau, therefore written as ICPA) poses to liberty and Coldfieldian society. We've been at war for 70 years against Amaranthinos and her authoritarian stance, but tracking her down is nearly an impossible task. She is believed to have arcane powers beyond the control of an ordinary human: according to many native Coldfieldians - a demographic with the highest support rate for the ICPA - and their religion, Amaranthinos is a demigod, someone capable of controlling time; however, Grand Ancestor Astanorim, regarded as the 'only and true God' by the natives, curbed her powers to 10% of what she was capable to do.

Note that the ICPA and its political wing - the Icy Mountain's Communist Party (ICPP) - is a legal organization under Icy Mountainese laws, and Amaranthinos is alleged "shadow" leader of the said party. The Republic of the Icy Mountains is a young country which gained independence from Coldfield three weeks ago through an official referendum and has Cryo as head of state and government. Cryo is another being regarded as a demigod by the natives and can manipulate water & ice - leader of the Wardens, a religious paramilitary group yet legal under both Coldfieldian and Mountainese laws. The Wardens are well-known enemies of the ICPA, and clashes between them occurred at a regular rate in the Icy Mountains. If someone has important and legitimate info on ICPA and its leader Amaranthinos, certainly it is Cryo.

Furthermore, we outright accept your offer of 100 MA92A2 APCs and your team of 150 spec-ops. Training of Coldfieldian soldiers assisted by Allanean troops may commence immediately. Everything should be done to stop Amaranthinos and the ICPA, as both recently forged proofs incriminating the King of associating with the mafia and multiversal illegal drugs & weapons trade. Such untruths triggered numerous protests and urban conflicts against law enforcement officers, and the country sees itself divided into two factions: the minority, supporters of Amaranthinos; and the majority, still loyal to the King Edmund Meyer.

[Allanea]

Several Days later, Crownsville, Coldfield

The operatives arrived in comfortable conditions – simply put, they flew in to Coldfield by chartered passenger plane, most of their equipment and weapons stowed in the hold. What remained – primarily, several large off-road vehicles – were brought in by two cargo planes that same evening. On the first day, the operatives undertook no military action at all, and instead went off to search for the quarters that the Coldfieldian government set aside for them, or, if that weren’t available, to set up camp outside Crownsville.

Dear friends!

We are happy that our aid is accepted. We are making preparations to assist you. We would like however to ask several things of you as we proceed. For one, would you like your men to travel to Allanea for training, or to undergo classes in Coldfield? Second, when you speak of the powers Amaranthinos and Cryo possess, do you mean those are powers they are rumoured and believed to possess by the locals, or do you mean that those are powers that they literally possess? We are willing to work with you in either circumstances, but some of our plans might need to change.

[Coldfield]

A Night In Crownsville

Johnny Gunderson, chief of the military, defense minister and best friend of King Edmund, was walking through the halls of the Imperial Military College. Whenever he passed by someone, he was greeted courteously. He did not like being the center of attention at his 68 years. His time of youth and his bulk body were a thing of the past. His vision worsened but his swordsmanship remained the same. It was almost supernatural, and he hated it when compared to the inhuman. He had been orphaned at the age of five during March at Brownlawn's in 1955, where Amaranthinos and the ICPA invaded the city - then inhabited by 270,000 people - and burned down most residential quarters. His entire family had been killed in one of these fires, but Johnny was saved by Hilda Eylenbosch, one of the few recipients of the Victory Medal, the highest honor in Coldfield's army. Since that day, the last of the Gunderson has developed an endless hatred for Amaranthinos, leader of the ICPA and Icy Mountains' Communist Party. His life goal was to kill the demigod, the one who did and continues to make people suffer. He knows there was not a right side and a wrong side in that war - but Johnny also recognizes that such violence was unnecessary.

He exited the college, saluting the doorman. It was dusk. Law enforcement in the streets was increased, after all, it was matchday for League One. Crown Fighters Vs. Oldmarket Spartans, two football teams, the first a current great power of the sport, three-time national champion; The latter, with only one title of national importance (excluding the Supercup) and several relegations, did not impose fear on anyone. Even though he was a fan of FC Brownlawn, his hometown team, Jonnhy Gunderson - a great sport lover - had sympathy for the blue and white club. It was normal in Coldfield stadiums to fill since there was not much choice for entertainment. Sitcoms and TV series have never been popular, and stand-ups have always been seen as stupid. The theaters were empty, as the Internet Generation was no longer interested in exaggerated drama. Cinemas were a good choice, but foreign films were dominating the box office - and precisely because they were not national films, it was twice as expensive as the original ticket - a measure imposed by King Philippe Meyer in 1996 in an attempt to make Coldfieldian culture survive the age of globalization, a move that had no positive effect in 22 years.

On normal days, that is, days when there were no national league games, the lovers went to the Cafés after a long day of work. If you lived in the farmfields, there would be nothing better than to enjoy the moonlight and the shining of the stars. However, Gunderson was a lonely man and was never open to amorous relationships. He spent his free time reading the works of Coldfieldian authors such as Arnold Terris and Paul Holt, or training with his sword, Gladius. But on this day he was determined to see the Blues win another match.

Dear Free Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Firstly, our soldiers may undergo classes right here in their homeland. Secondly, a quarter in a partially built residential neighborhood in Outer Crownsville was prepared for Allanean operatives.

About Amaranthinos and Cryo, that's a hell of a tricky question. They do possess powers beyond the control of an ordinary human, such as regeneration and decelerated aging - which explains why their appearance hasn't changed since the Great Internal War sixty years ago. But it is unknown for us if they are literal demigods.

Perhaps with Cryo assistance, things will be easier for us both. We - Coldfield Foreign Affairs minister Bella Smith and Archwarrior Johnny Gunderson - recommend holding a meeting with the Mountainese president soon.

[Allanea]

The Allanean commandos set to bed, except for a small group of people that were intended to be guarding the compound – one man guarding the vehicles, another two guarding the entrance doors,a man working on the unit’s phones, and a duty officer in command of all four. Every two hours, the duty officer would wake four more men. (The man himself had a six-hour shift.) By this simple means, the compound was to be kept reasonably secured.

On the next day, the Allanean soldiers woke up early, showered, worked out (what’s a morning without two hundred pushups?) and got to work, dragging their equipment to the rooms it belonged to. Steel cabinets painted in Army green went in every room. The briefing room was immediately fitted with a new projector, and maps of Coldfield were hung upon the walls, not so much for any use yet, but to keep the minds of the men focused at the mission at hand.

Dear friends!

We believe this course of action is appropriate.

For this reason, we are organizing the travel of a team of instructors to your country, specifically for the purpose of training your personnel. These instructors are men and women spanning our law enforcement, Special Operations, and military community. The principal issues will revolve around training those law enforcement and military officers interesting taking the class in the strategic, operational, and logistics issues related to counterterrorist operations, while evaluating the deficiencies, if any, in the training of Coldfield’s enlisted men.

Moreover, we are organizing a series of overflights along the Coldfield-RIM border by commercial aircraft, for the purpose of detailed photography of the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also would like to work with your government on developing a detailed report on the socio-economic situation of the Republic of the Icy Mountains.

Key issues affecting the long-term problem involve, but are not limited to:

1. Economic and educational opportunities for young Mountainese males (16-30 age group).
2. Institutional obstacles to economic development and investment in the Repubilc.
3. Internet infrastructure in the Republic of the Icy Mountains, and obstacles to the deployment thereof.
4. The administrative and social structure of the Republic of the Icy Mountains, with a focus on local and municipal leadership.

We would be glad to work together on procuring this information as we prepare for the meeting.

*

To: Cryo, President of the Republic of the Icy Mountains
From: Maverick Monningham, Foreign Minister of the Free Kingdom of Allanea

Dear friend!
I am given to understand that some tensions exist between your nation and your neighbors to the North, due to the operations of the Iey Campa Pipo Assau (hereinafter: ICPA). I also understand that there’s been several violent clashes between ICPA troops and RIM forces. believe it should be possible, with the assistance of the Free Kingdom, to come to an arrangement that not only resolves the issue of ICPA violence (while removing any semblance of responsibility for it from your nation), but also assists in resolving some of the underlying economic problems in your young nation, assisting it in locating sources of foreign investment and development grants.

Conversely, I don’t believe it’s beneficial for your country to be seen as an ICPA safe haven. This could easily lead to long-term diplomatic, economic, and security isolation, which is really the last thing a young country needs.

For this reason, I’d like to send Grand Ambassador Teophile Borne to participate in a trilateral meeting between you and your counterparts to the North.

Please inform of a date convenient for you to attend.

Yours, Maverick

[Coldfield]

Crownsville
Archwarrior Jonnhy Gunderson was signing some paperwork, making brief stops to slowly drink his coffee. Coffee with milk. In Coldfield, water was expensive as there were not a myriad of rivers, and most were already polluted by industries. Only lakestr were safe, thanks to state intervention. The largest reservoirs of water were found in the isolated and sparsely inhabited region of the Icy Mountains, now an independent state. Then part of Coldfield, access to the region was restricted due to ICPA activity, and neither the government nor companies were able to exploit the reserves. Now the region was under Mountainese control, but even then it was difficult to take advantage of the aquifer due to the lack of infrastructure. There were only dirt roads and no electricity outside cities. His mission, however, was not to take the reserve from the hands of Amaranthinos - but to prepare the country for something bigger.

Dear Free Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foremost, we endorse your initiative in organizing series of overflights in the border with the Icy Mountains. There will be no major problems given the absence of a military force in the Republic of Icy Mountains.

Furthermore, we did a report about the Icy Mountains weeks before the Independence Referendum. Referring to your key issues:

1. Education is compulsory from ages 7 to 18, however, basic educational infrastructure is precarious. Textbooks are shared (and outdated), weak training for professors, compulsory religious classes, decaying classrooms, and absence of public schools in faraway cities/ICPA controlled areas. RIM's economy is primarily based on mining, agriculture, and textiles. Main exports are clothing and minerals, while imports are machinery and electrical goods. There is a severe lack of skilled labor, unemployment is currently at 2.8% and the GDP per capita is $6000. Males from distant/poor areas are the most common group in the ICPA frontline.

2. Bureaucratic culture is one of the main institutional issues in the young country. In return, there is little restriction on investors, be foreign or not. Corruption is definitely the main antagonist to development in the Icy Mountains.

3. 60% of households have access to the internet; Satellite internet access is the most popular form of internet access. Despite little obstacles, no private internet companies have shown interest in the country.

4. The Republic is a presidential democratic, unicameral unitary state with elections held every 4 years. The Parliament has 80 members. Each city has a mayor and its own council, where membership can range from 10 to 40 members, proportional to the city's population. The Mountainese people is far from sexist or racist, but very devout - bordering extremism in rural areas. Men and women have equal rights.

Any additional info we could provide?

[Independent Icy Mountains]

To: Maverick Monningham, Foreign Minister of the Free Kingdom of Allanea
From: Cryo, President of the Republic of the Icy Mountains

As the first leader of the Icy Mountains, I do agree that something should be done to repress the ICPA. While we do oppose the organization, paramilitary groups are legal in our country due to our principles of free association and right to defense; Of course, this specific faction is misrepresenting our values and exploiting the law to commit illegal operations in a neighboring country.

Moreover, I am truly surprised and openly accept your offer on assisting our economy with foreign investments and development grants. It is the first time foreigners show interest in the Mountainese territory opportunities.

Lastly, I will be pleased to meet Teophile Borne on September 4th. Can the meeting be held in Allanea or Coldfield? ICPA's acts are unpredictable, hence it is quite dangerous for foreign authorities to visit the country.

Have a nice day
Cryo.

[Allanea]

From:Maverick Monningham, Foreign Minister of the Free Kingdom of Allanea
To: Cryo, President of the Republic of the Icy Mountains

My dear friend!

I’m happy to receive your letter. Of course, as a Freeman, I understand your country’s dedication to the right of individual and group self-defense. The Free Kingdom of Allanea respects the rights of every individual to arm themselves for legitimate purposes. However, when organizations become criminal, we feel that the state has the legitimate power to shut them down, not for bearing arms, but for using said arms for illegitimate violence.

The Free Kingdom believes, based on ample economic and historical evidence, that socio-economic developement, quality education and functioning infrastructure, when combined with professional law enforcement measures, have a powerful effect in reducing the rate of involvement in terrorist activities. This is especially true when the terrorist activities are based on economic grievances and not religious ones.

Part of the promise Amaranthinos makes to the men and women under her command is one of greater economic prosperity and justice for poor Coldfieldians. Although the Free Kingdom is not a great believer in government expenditures as a way to improve economies generally, we do believe in wartime and emergencies things can be done that are not done normally. It is cheaper and more effective to spend money on thought-out development plans, than on a prolonged war.

Our nation - and every civilized nation - benefits economically and diplomatically when we have more friends who are prosperous, and benefits from internal peace, freedom, and civilization. For this reasons we are certainly willing to organize assistance for you.

Yours, Maverick

*

In a small hotel, somewhere in Liberty-City

Teophile Bourne had the appearance of a somewhat strange man - for a diplomat, he looked a bit too stern, and if one looked carefully one could find the presence of a tattoo appearing from under the edge of his collar. Bourne seemed unafraid of the threat of ICPA attackers infiltrating the hotel - as usual, security had been professional, and in the event, he was a former OAS professional.

He had prepared a small briefing for the foreign dignitaries, and was only waiting for them to appear. Once they did, he smiled politely and spoke. A detailed map of Coldfield and the Icy Mountains Republic appeared on the screen behind him as he did so.

”My friends!,” - Teophile commenced, his tone polite and measured.

”I understand that we have arrived in an uncomfortable period in history. An organization that had contributed to the Republic’s struggle for independence has continued its violent activities long after it had outlived, shall we say, its usefulness to most Mountainese. It’s moved on to being effectively a criminal gang that serves nobody, and attacks both the people who are supposedly its enemies, and the people it pretends to be an ally and protector for.”

“At this point we are coming to a point where, I believe, the ICPA needs to be dealt with. The most effective way to do so is through the cooperation of both the Republic of the Icy Mountains and the Kingdom of Coldfield. If this cooperation is not achieved, we feel it is likely that the conflict only escalates.”

The diplomat waved his hand towards the map, a laser pointer appearing in his palm, which he pointed at the Republic.

”History suggests that no terrorist movement has ever succeeded without having some degree of foreign support, and some territory where it could drill or operate safely. If the Republic becomes a territory where the terrorists may drill and operate safely, this will make the lives of its neighbors a living hell... but as a result it will be viewed as a terrorist supporting state, which will cause the conflict to escalate inevitably. Naturally this is not going to benefit anyone.” - Bourne paused, then added, ”Although I believe that eventually Coldfield would still prevail, albeit at incredible cost of money and lives to all parties. Let’s not do that.”

He now waved his pointer in a circle, causing the red dot to swing around the Newisland shores.

”Conversely, if cooperation is achieved, Newisland as a whole is perfectly poised to make itself free of major terrorism. Obviously no nation or continent is ever entirely free of violence, but frankly having terrorist groups thirty thousand strong running about is not exactly what I think of when I contemplate the words ‘law and order’.”

“If we can ensure no area of Newisland is actually a safe haven where these people can operate freely, while limiting their ability to ship heavy weaponry from abroad, we’ll have made a powerful stride forward in disabling ICPA, and the other terrorist groups as well.”

“For this reason I’d like to recommend that we prohibit these groups - the ICPA, the ethnic nationalitss they support, and any other idiots that may crop up - at both sides of the border. We should work to pass laws - again, on both sides of the border - that enable efficient paramilitary action in the areas where there are terrorist training camps, barracks, and so forth, while limiting the effect this will have on the rights of ordinary citizens living in peaceful areas.”

“Finally, we should improve the effectiveness of law enforcement and military forces on both sides. The Free Kingdom is already considering training programs. In addition we would like to work on legal measures to shut down the funding sources of the terrorists, confiscate any ‘legal’ assets they may have such as industrial plants, bank accounts, businesses, and so forth and equip law enforcement on both sides with better reconnaissance equipment, patrol drones, and suchlike. Information is the key to all counterterrorist and counterguerrilla campaigns.”

The Allanean paused.

”I don’t want to occupy more of your time with the the military details. Suffice to say here we must work together and work smarter, and not harder. Another concern we have is economics. I do not wish to be very offensive to the delegation from the Republic of the Icy Mountains, but the fact is that it is not completely as wealthy as we would like it to be. One way to limit the attractiveness of terrorist movements, especially Communist ones, is economic improvement.”

“The Republic - and some parts of Coldfield probably - suffers from some severe economic drawbacks. History has shown that economic improvement, and especially improved infrastructure and access to Internet and education, time and time again reduces the recruitment levels of terrorist groups and the occurrence of certain forms of terrorist attacks, although I’d like to stress it’s not clear if there’s a transfer effect.”

“At any rate, what we should do is first of all sign a trilateral free trade agreement between our nations. The Free Kingdom will provide funding to build roads and other infrastructure in the Icy Mountains Republic, obviously to improve the economy there and to increase the availability of products. We would also like to look into the underlying issues facing Internet development in the Republic. The fact that most of the country still relies on satellite Internet suggests to our researchers that there are underlying issues that need to be looked into.”

“Moreover, we would like to send a team of economic and technology advisors to the Republic, to look at methods to make government services there more straightforward, and better available to the average person there. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet worked out its full set of solutions, but we believe that there are simple and effective technologies and organization methods that can be used to make the use of government services more straightforward. We should also work to simplify things such as land transfers, if there is no issue with doing that from a political standpoint.”

“Further, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to invite international and private charity organizations, such as the Greenleaf Imperial Charity, Tech For Developement, and other groups, to improve access to medical services, deal with some of the pollution and disease issues, and improve Internet access and technology knowledge for poor Coldfieldians and Mountainese alike.”

“This is more or less the gist of our plan. I welcome your input and corrections,” - the diplomat said as he sat down.

[Coldfield]

In the same small hotel, somewhere in Liberty-City

King Edmund Meyer really did not resemble his father, King Philippe. Philippe was a short, strong man with a square chin and the face of an old man at age 40. Edmund still looked like a teenager, even in his 39 years. According to fashion magazines, Edmund was modestly dressed for a king. Inexperienced in military matters, Edmund traveled to Liberty-City in the company of Johnny Gunderson - the Archwarrior, supreme chief of the Coldfieldian Army and the King's right arm. Johnny had lost his left eye at age of five during the Brownlawn invasion, where his entire family was killed during an incendiary attack in 1955.

Both sat down and silently listened to Teophile Bourne. They respected the diplomat's unusual appearance; Johnny paid close attention to everything the Allanean said while Edmund saw the tattoo on Teophile's neck and tried to read it - unsuccessfully. The Coldfieldian King had the appearance and the behavior of a young man.

"We openly accept the aid of Greenleaf Imperial Charity, however, for internet development Coldfieldian company April Tech is preferred. Also, paramilitary groups in Coldfield are completely illegal - only our dear neighbors permits such travesty." Edmund said with a rude tone."

"There is also white supremacists wackos in Oldmarket, delusional Iberian separatists at Orangefish, and religious extremists in Queenstown. The former is on its own and the rest is supported by the ICPA - luckily they are small and poor groups, easy to disarticulate. Together these groups have a strength of 2,000, with the Oldmarket Movement being the largest and richest of the three Perhaps we might take these factions down before going straight to Amaranthinos."

"Likewise, there are relevant yet smaller ethnic terrorists in Ginford and Siegecity." Johnny commented.

"You're right, John. We suppose there are a total of 8 terrorist factions acting in Newisland excluding the ICPA, seven of them linked to the ICPA itself. Now excuse me, let me share a thought with Cryo." Edmund concluded, now staring at his neighbor Cryo.

"You know very well that paramilitary groups in your country are perfectly legal and ... cultural reasons, let's say. But safety must come first, and you shall change this law. I do not owe anything in this sense given that these factions are already illegal by the Coldfieldian Constitution."

Cryo stared at the screen, avoiding contact with the others present. "I know we have a problem with bureaucracy, but we can overcome working together with our respective parliaments. Yes, I will change the law, but you also will have to do us both a favor: abolish the restrictions on foreign capital. I abolished and you should too, and don't forget to sign the trilateral free trade agreement with Allanea."

"Yup." Edmund answered as he sat down with an ironic smile on his face, and began to stare at the ceiling. Johnny could hear a "manchild" murmured from Cryo.

"Are you still the leader of the Wardens, Cryo?" Johnny Gunderson asked

"Yes, I converted them into the National Police. If paramilitary groups are to be banned, the Wardens will be safe from any change."

Johnny nodded and stayed silent.

"Is there anything else to talk about or are we done for today?" King Edmund Meyer impolitely questioned Teophile Bourne, the former ready to leave the room.

[Allanea]

The Allanean replied: "Sir, I believe we can work out the specifics of the developement aid at a latter date. I believe that rather than prohibiting all lawful private paramilitaries outright, we should instead work out plan to use them in our plan. I have details which I will later propose to our Mountainese friends. I am proposing, however, a draft of a treaty." - he flicked his wrist in a peculiar gesture, and the image on the screen behind him altered, to display...

The Coldfield Peace and Developement Pact

1. The parties shall agree on a mutual assistance pact specifically for the purpose of suppressing the major terrorist organizations operating in Coldfield and the Mountainese Republic as of the date of the signing.

2. The parties shall agree on a mutual free trade pact with an indefinite duration.

3. The Free Kingdom of Allanea will provide the other parties with military, law enforcement, and economic assistance, as appropriate for suppressing the terrorist organizations. However no Allanean military forces will operate in the territory of the Coldfield or the Mountain Republic without the explicit consent of these states, granted to each individual military unit deployed in writing and in advance.

4. The parties shall prohibit the activities of the terrorist groups, all funding and training to them, and confiscate all properties owned by them, such as factories, bank accounts, etc.

5. The Free Kingdom will deploy advisory groups to each country's capital, for the purpose of working out economic developement plans, as well as identifying existing shortcomings in police and military training, equipment, and strategies.

6. The parties will set up a Trilateral Commission for the purpose of discussing joint infrastructure projects.

[Coldfield]

The Coldfieldian King replied to Teophile, carefully rereading the draft. "Looks good. I agree with all topics, however, I can not speak for Cryo."

"I also agree with everything, but an item of the fourth topic does not seem to apply for our current states as in 'The parties shall prohibit [...] all funding and training to them'. Neither the Republic nor Coldfield sponsors the terrorists. Is the item about private entities providing assistance to the ICPA? Besides said topic, the draft is perfect."

"Should we permit Allanean military forces in our territory?" Edmund asked Johnny in front of everyone.

"Yes, any assistance shall be welcome. But do remember this is just a draft, not the definitive pact and changes may happen."

"Understood. What date would be convenient for working on the development aid?" Edmund once again inquired the Allanean diplomat.

[Allanea]

Teophile nodded. "Yes, that's the idea. Ideally you'd want to ensure that anyone who is willingly assisting the terrorists is being considered an accomplice in the crime. In this way you'll create a legal field to allow your government to deal with the root structures that enable the terrorism, so that the soldiers and police officers are not just putting out fires."

The Allanean then looked at Edmund: "It'll take a few days for us to assemble the team. The first tranches of aid can be delivered once the team arrives, and more detailed aid programs will be worked out based on the research they'll conduct. Doe this sound fair?"

[Coldfield]

"Certainly it does. And now my last concern is the treaty. The Coldfieldian constitution allows me to sign treaties without the approval of anyone except myself and the Archwarrior, thus I could sign it right now." Edmund said while sitting back in his chair with a confident smile.

Cryo looked at the Allanean with a worried face: "Although the draft looks good, as a president I need parliamentary approval before I can sign it, which can up to take 2 weeks. Hopefully this does not interfere with your agenda, sir."

[Allanea]

“That’s fair. In our country the treaty goes in effect immediately, but the Senate can overrule or ratify it. In this case it’ll likely be ratified quickly.” – Teophile explained. “However, our assistance to the law enforcement forces and general citizenry of Coldfield will start immediately as Their Majesty signs the treaty.”

[Coldfield]

"Gunderson, give me the pen." Edmund said to the Archwarrior.

"Are you Sure?" Johnny questioned.

"Yes. The sooner it starts, the better."

"My Majesty, remember that you needs my authorization first."

"Do you consent? Remember: your job depends on me." Edmund whispered to Johnny.

"Yes." Johnny replied promptly.

"Excellent, now gimme the pen."

"Here it is." Johnny gave a fountain pen to Edmund.

"Well, I do not think you can write on a screen." Cryo mentioned, staring at the screen displaying the treaty.

"You're right. I need the papers."

"I told you not to hurry." Johnny commented.

[Allanea]

As the papers were brought in and signed, the Allanean smiled. "I'm happy we've had this squared away. "

[Allanea]

Thus it was that the Allanean aid began to arrive in Coldfield before it arrived in the Republic of the Icy Mountains. It arrived at first in small amounts, but it was carefully chosen in ways to ensure every Allanean aid dollar would go the furthest.

First was the military aid. Arriving by the first plane were four tractor-trailers, each holding a deflated balloon. Opening the trailer and pressing a few buttons would cause the balloon to ascend, tethered by a metal cable, to an altitude that could be chosen by the user – up to almost a mile. This seemed like a useless toy – until it was realized that the balloon carried cameras that could see to the very horizon, day or night. A unit with such a balloon could spot rebel tanks or trucks long before they came into mortar range.

Coldfield units would receive drones – from large drones fitting into a crate, that could let battalion commander scout to two dozen miles, to pocket drones that let a squad sergeant see things miles away. The drones were not particularly expensive – the smallest ones were at five hundred credits, and the Free Kingdom had literally ordered a bunch at an online store. A single shipment was enough to give every Coldfieldian squad the ability to scout further than it could ever need.

The economic aid was also forthcoming. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs development team was on its way – comprised of an economist, two statisticians, an anthropologist, a demographer, and a historian, as well as two architects, assisted by several photographers, three typists, two interpreters, and five translators.

Their first act of development was to immediately rent – at MoF expense, of course – five-star hotel rooms and a conference room. Professor Rita Lowry, of the Ubosniton College of Economics, immediately set out to the local Finance Ministry building.

[Independent Icy Mountains]

First Meeting Of The Mountainese Congress

The first meeting ever of the mountainese Congress happened on 7th September 2017, and the 100 congressmen (actually 34 of them just happen to be women) voted on The Coldfield Peace and Developement Pact.

All of the elected congressmen and congresswomen were present in the Capitol, in Siegecity, a building built five hundred years before the arrival of European settlers. The construction had numerous representations of the Mountainese God and Demigods, however, all references to Amaranthinos were removed and stashed in some random depot nearby.

Cryo was standing close to spokesman Sizo Hylis, who started the meeting. After elaborating an impromptu introduction to the Congress in a one-hour speech, Sizo proceeded to begin voting on the trilateral treaty between Allanea, Coldfield, and the Republic; Coldfield and Allanea had already signed it.

"Here it is the Treaty in its original state.

Part One: The parties shall agree on a mutual assistance pact specifically for the purpose of suppressing the major terrorist organizations operating in Coldfield and the Mountainese Republic as of the date of the signing.
Part Two: The parties shall agree on a mutual free trade pact with an indefinite duration.
Part Three: The Free Kingdom of Allanea will provide the other parties with military, law enforcement, and economic assistance, as appropriate for suppressing the terrorist organizations. However no Allanean military forces will operate in the territory of the Coldfield or the Mountain Republic without the explicit consent of these states, granted to each individual military unit deployed in writing and in advance.
Part Four: The parties shall prohibit the activities of the terrorist groups, all funding and training to them, and confiscate all properties owned by them, such as factories, bank accounts, etc.
Part Five: The Free Kingdom will deploy advisory groups to each country's capital, for the purpose of working out economic developement plans, as well as identifying existing shortcomings in police and military training, equipment, and strategies.
Part Six: The parties will set up a Trilateral Commission for the purpose of discussing joint infrastructure projects.

The treaty is already in effct inside Coldfieldian borders. We, as a landlocked nation surrounded by Coldfieldians, should also follow their steps, for our own good and safety."

The congressmen cast their votes anonymously. In fifteen minutes, the result came out: 76 Aye versus 24 Nay. The voting has held peacefully without delays or unnecessary appeals. Mountainese culture prized silence and devotion to the country - the latter often called the "greater-good".

"It seems your expectation of two weeks of waiting was much shorter, Mrs. Cryo." Sizo Hylis smiled to his president, giving Cryo a pile of papers. "Here it is. Sign and the treaty would immediately be effective for us, Mountainese."

Cryo was surprised, she never expected such organization from such young country. Cryo grabbed a pen from Sizo's desk and signed in front of both Mountainese and foreign journalists' cameras. The treaty was a historic feat for the Republic of Icy Mountains, a nation that existed for about three thousand years, yet achieved independence just a few weeks ago.

[Allanea]

Dear friends!

We are happy to see that the Republic of the Icy Mountains has agreed to cooperate with us and to ratify the Coldfield Peace and Development Pact faster than the two-week period of ratification that was originally agreed upon. We have used the time we had to hold several conferences with private and public stakeholders within the Free Kingdom of Allanea and raise resources and donations from various stakeholders.

1. The Tech 4 Development international charity has agreed to donate 10,000 simple laptops for bein distributed to school students throughout the Republic of the Icy Mountains. This has been funded by our friends in Lamoni. Moreover, if you permit, T4D volunteers will commence digitizing RIM textbooks to make them available on the computers. The computers will also have a free, ad-subsidized, low-speed Internet connection provided by Sledgehammer Networks in New Dornalia. T4D will also take it upon itself to distribute the computers. Moreover, an additional shipment of 10,000 tablets will be brought in and shipped to your government directly, so you can use them to commence digitizing government operations.

2. The Ministry of War has gracefully agreed to deliver vehicles, supplies, and ammunition to your armed forces, primarily for the purpose of arming them for counterterrorist operations. We understand the difficulty your armed forces are having dealing with the terrorist threat. Ministry of War experts have deemed it correct to ship to your country four LIRCAS Sergeant strike aircraft, specifically developed by our partners in Neu Engollon for patrol and counterterrorist use. If you do not have qualified pilots, you should advise us on this issue. In addition we will be shipping to you tactical reconnaissance drones (from pocket drones to drones with the effective range of 60 kilometers for uses at the battalion level), as well as several small surveillance aerostats, similar to the ones in use already with our forces in Coldfield.
We believe that - given the threat posed by no less than thirty thousand strong terrorists in your country – it would be appropriate for us to deploy an armed force to help your troops as well. For this purpose our friends in the Ministry of War have recommended deploying the following:

X1 Separate Rocket Artillery Battalion Vnuki Svaroga/Grandchildren of Svarog – 280 men, serving 18 launchers
X2 Special Mountain Companies (300 men, one to participate directly in counter-terrorist tasks, one to aid in training RIM forces).
X1 ELINT ship FKS Argus, to operate outside your national borders.

In addition, a research team of 2 military experts will be sent.

3. The Inter-Ministry Law Enforcement Task Force has offered to send to your nation a force of up to 25 qualified law enforcement professionals, to review the situation with your law enforcement, and to supply your nation with the proper law enforcement tools. They have also offered to donate 50 off-road vehicles and several speedboats for use by your law enforcement, as well as various surveillance equipment.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself has worked with our counterparts in the Ministry of Finance to develop a multinational expert team to assist you. For this purpose we have formed a team of archaeologists (to look at various artefacts from the demigod era), two economists (to look at potential points of improvement in your economy), and several sociologists (to gather the appropriate data). Moreover, as per the conditions of the treaty, we have created a Road Maintenance Fund from the MoFA Discretionary Fund. This fund will fund, first of all, paving roads around your young nation’s capital, and second, the provision of road maintenance equipment – such as bulldozers, graders, minibulldozers, excavators, etc. – as humanitarian aid to your nation, to be distributed to private maintenance companies in your nation.

Moreover we are willing to directly assist you in implementing the Pact, specifically in confiscating the assets currently owned by terrorist organizations.

We hope that this is a reasonable first step.

Yours,
Teophile Bourne.

[Independent Icy Mountains]

Letter to the Free Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The government will immediately start digitizing documents upon the shipments' arrival. Likewise, we give the go-ahead for Tech 4 Development on digitalizing our textbooks. We appreciate the Allanean concern with our education and children.

However, we do not have qualified pilots for the LIRCAS, given the fact the Mountainese Republic do not even have a military; we just posses a national police which poses as a military. Also, the national police itself welcomed your support yet they stated that speedboats will not that necessary and just five of them are sufficient. Additionally, all the Allanean military and humanitarian support will be welcomed warmly by the ordinary urban Mountainese. We do prescribe caution when handling and studying the Demigods. These artifacts survived nine years of intense shelling, various stealing attempts, and terrorist actions. Damaging any of the relics may result in civil unrest led by an angered Demigod.

As for terrorist-owned assets, hours ago the National Police seized a modest warehouse in the outskirts of Siegecity being used as a garage for five ICPA's technical vehicles, which might give us more info on their whereabouts.

I await your response,
Cryo.

[Allanea]

Dear friends!

We understand the concerns you express. We know full-well one should not anger a demigod – the last man who angered Her Imperial Majesty has had their palace turned into vaguely-sparkly fine dust by means of several hours of bombing. We will work to resolve the problems you posit, as follows:

1. The LIRCAS Sergeant is similar in terms its use to many light planes used by civilians, so we hope qualified pilots can be found later who can be retrained, or our instructors can train people from scratch, meanwhile we will provide a small crew of OAS personnel.

2. We have sent forth the various military equipment and artillery by ship and plane, and the ELINT ship will be on-station soon.

3. Finally let us state that we are deeply concerned about the issue of terrorist funding. An organization of 30,000 people with vehicles and tanks cannot be sustained without dozens of millions in annual payments spent solely on the men and weapons, and a revenue stream vastly in excess of that. It must be the absolute priority of our nations to track down and disrupt the sources of these funds. Doing so will hopefully reduce terrorist activity while using only a minimum amount of violene.

Yours,
Teophile Bourne.

[Independent Icy Mountains]

Letter to the Free Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We have found six former pilots for the Coldfieldian Air Force. They fought for Coldfield in the 2003-2012 conflict against invading forces. The six pilots were born in the Icy Mountains before independence, and currently, all of them hold dual-citizenship. Can two of them be trained as reserve pilots? We can not expect everyone to be always able to work.

The port of Franktown in Coldfield sent us an email with attached photos informing the arrival of your artillery and the ELINT ship. Ammunition and drones arrived at the Siegecity International Airport earlier today.

We suppose most of the income of terrorists comes from the smuggling of minerals, international drug trade, and various legitimate establishments (factories, banks, restaurants) whose profits go directly to the ICPA treasury.

I await your response,
Cryo.

[Coldfield]

When Professor Rita Lowry entered the Finance Ministry building in the Old Downtown of Crownsville, a young brunette dressed in black greeted the Allanean.

"Welcome madam. How can I help you?"

[Allanea]

When Professor Rita Lowry entered the Finance Ministry building in the Old Downtown of Crownsville, a young brunette dressed in black greeted the Allanean.

"Welcome madam. How can I help you?"

"Greetings, madam."- Professor Lowry replied. "Would it be possible to receive copies of the relevant reports about Coldfield's import regulations, it's real estate market, and the regulations on its banking system? Specifically I would like to know, what are the most serious restrictions on imports and exports, and furthermore what authority do banking regulators have to implement know-your-client rules?

[Coldfield]

When Professor Rita Lowry entered the Finance Ministry building in the Old Downtown of Crownsville, a young brunette dressed in black greeted the Allanean.

"Welcome madam. How can I help you?"

"Greetings, madam."- Professor Lowry replied. "Would it be possible to receive copies of the relevant reports about Coldfield's import regulations, it's real estate market, and the regulations on its banking system? Specifically I would like to know, what are the most serious restrictions on imports and exports, and furthermore what authority do banking regulators have to implement know-your-client rules?

"Of course." The woman left the reception and headed for a printer next room. Ten minutes later she came back with a huge pile of papers.

"There is a full list of regulations and other unnecessary bureaucracy. Import regulation is heavy but easy to understand. The product is taxed proportionally to its price; products that may affect human body requests authorization from the Ministry of Health; food and other eatables require authorization from the Ministry of Health; Import of pornography, illegal drugs, explosives, and weapons are prohibited. Consumer electronics and entertainment media such as TV series and video games are taxed heavily in order to protect the national market."

"I know nothing about real estate market, though I'm sure there's something about that in those papers. Also, there is very little regulation on banking. To operate a bank you will just need a banking license, meet some relaxed minimum requirements and you're done. Prepare to fight with successful banks such as Oceanstone."

"Lastly, financial institutions must know who their customers are; banks and other financial institutions must know their clients' expected transitions and reporting to the government anything suspect; they must keep records about anything their customers do when regarding the bank." The brunette took a long break. "Anything else?"