December 16th, NC 4067 - North Zanzes, the village of Rinayuris
Rinayuris, located just shy of the border between North and South Zanzes, could barely be considered a town. More accurately described in English as a hamlet or possibly a village, it consisted only of a small number of families whose livelihoods all revolved around the cultivation of rare blue papaya1.The plant was rare on account of being almost impossible to grow outside of these select areas, and this was one of many factors that resulted in blue papaya being considered a delicacy. Another factor which helped blue papaya prices (like those grown in Rinayuris) was the fact that it could be distilled and aged into a particularly fine wine which was abominably popular (and expensive) in places like Hadin. For this reason, the blue papaya trade was big business; poor towns with no other means of profitability like Rinayuris survived solely because they were one of the few places one could reasonably expect the plant to grow in all of Noctur.
When the Septimists found their way into North Zanzes, they had taken great care not to leave any stone unturned in the business of extinguishing heathenism in North Zanzes. Providing the good word of Septima to the backwards savages who'd never known his grace was one of the necessary duties of the occupying Hadinian government, who had deemed it a necessary service to modernize their newfound holdings on the mainland of Terra Occidens. To this end, they made every attempt to ensure missionary efforts were made to every population center in North Zanzes, from large cities like Zanzibar to lowly hamlets like Rinayuris. Of course, even the High Envoy of Hadin himself would tell anyone that ministering to the souls of an entire population of heathens when one's own country has only half the same population is a... difficult affair. So it was that the missionaries assigned to Rinayuris found themselves assigned to other towns in a large area as well; sadly this does not allow the same quality of expungement of heathenism.
Thanks to the missionaries from Hadin, every man, woman, and child currently living in Rinayuris officially identified as a Septimist. They could identify the seven facets of Septima, recite basic Septimist prayers from memory, and attended church services once a week which, for lack of town-space, were held at the village elder's own home. All of the houses of Rinayuris had been given a Zanzean-language print copy of the Bibi Albus. A few of the townsfolk even read the book occasionally. All of them would tell you, when the missionaries were in town, that they had rejected their old faiths and animistic beliefs.
When the missionaries were around, Rinayuris Mtolo Asrar would take her daily walk into the forests around her home and search for seeds or other bounties from the forest. Seeking out mushrooms or rare herbs for home use wasn't against the new normal that came with several years of occupation by Hadin. She knew of a particular spot, about a half-mile from the path leading south from the granary in Rinayuris and somewhat off to the right, where trees leaked a slow-burning resin that could keep the candles burning for nights on end. When the missionaries weren't around, sometimes Asrar would instead carry away a basket of potatoes and take the path leading south from the granary and somewhat off to the left.
The Septimists hadn't yet found out where Khatibi made her home, in a small hut hidden in plain sight and by chance of being far enough away from what the missionaries considered "a population center". Here, at Khatibi's hut, the smell of Septimist incense and the noise of Septimist prayers was out of reach.
Khatibi had once been Rinayuris Sibari Khatibi, but when the Septimists had come with their books and their God and their missionaries, Khatibi chose a life of recluse and isolation rather than to betray the old traditions she'd called hers2. Out in isolation, stripped of township name and family name, the woman now known only as Khatibi continued the practice of forbidden rites once considered commonplace. When the missionaries weren't around, some like Asrar would go to Khatibi for a number of requests: healing, soothsaying, talisman-making, spiritual communion with the departed, etc. Upon arrival to Khatibi's hut and being welcomed to sit at a lonely table to one side of the room, Asrar found herself pondering how plain Septimist spirtitualism seemed compared to the mysticism littered around Khatibi's home. Khatibi, dressed in drab brown clothing, sat across from Asrar. Asrar, in turn, pushed forward the basket of potatoes to present to Khatibi, who removed them one by one and counted them. Asrar had loaded the basket with six potatoes in total. She'd also added two small tins of oil and salt, which Khatibi met with slight surprise.
"Three questions, Asrar," Khatibi warned her. "Salt makes me generous". Khatibi reached into her pocket and produced a number of stones, handing them to Asrar.
"Ask aloud, then drop them. I will tell you your answer". Nervously, Asrar took the handful of stones and raised them a bit above her head. There was a moment's hesitation before she recited her first question: "is there life for me outside of Rinayuris?" --- and with that, she let go of the stones, watching them fall from her hand and clatter unto (and occasionally off) the table. Khatibi's eyes glanced at the stones that remained for a moment before gesturing for Asrar to fetch the two stones that had fallen from the table's surface.
"This figure, Asrar...the spirits say yes. I see a flood of people before you. I see steel towers and shimmering lights brushing against the sky. I see a banner whose meaning I do not know, Asrar. Perhaps someday, you will consider such sights commonplace. Next question, child". Annoyed by Khatibi's curt response but eager to collect on her remaining two questions, Asrar pouted for a moment before collecting the stones and contemplating her next question.
"When I leave, will I go for love?" Asrar's mind flashed to Rinayuris Chafik Tahmir. She and Tahmir had always been close. Once, when they were both small, they'd spent entire days hand-in-hand. The onset of adulthood and the prudishness that came with the missionaries saw their closeness as no longer acceptable unless bonded by the missionaries in holy matrimony. Tahmir seemed reluctant to initiate such a change in their relationship. Pining for him still, Asrar dropped the stones again, and as she collected the four that had fallen off the table, Khatibi read her the answer.
"I see a tall man who has watched you for a time. He will beckon and you will go".
That couldn't be anyone but Talmir, Asrar thought confidently, readying herself for her last question. Once Khatibi signaled that she was ready, Asrar dropped the stones again, asking, "and what will Talmir and I do once we've left?" Perhaps she'd used too much force when extending her arm, or perhaps the stones merely fell at a strange angle. Not one of the stones remained on the table once she'd dropped them, all scattering to the floor in various directions.
"I'm sorry!" Asrar began, getting up to collect them from the floor. "I'll go pick them up ri--"
The sharp gesture of Khatibi grabbing Asrar's arm stopped the younger woman in her tracks. Khatibi's dark eyes, rimmed with sleepless black bags, glared darkly at Asrar.
"Child, don't ask questions you don't wish to know the answer for".
"I-it...can't be that bad, can it?"
"I think you should return home, Rinayuris Mtolo Asrar, while you still can".
December 25th, NC 4067 - an undisclosed location in North Zanzes
When Jasper Adami had begun his work in North Zanzes, he'd never expected to be so successful. His (off-the-books) orders from the Hadinian Envoyship were to manipulate the volatile situation on the Zanzeanic border to the benefit of the Hadinian government. Officially being in North Zanzes as a businessman procuring rare goods and looking into investment opportunities, Jasper Adami had found himself with adequate opportunity to operate in North Zanzes unchecked.
He'd learned a lot in the few months he'd been here. It was common knowledge that in pre-modern times, Zanzes had been a powerful nation with several vassal states. As the world neared the industrial age, Zanzes suddenly fell off the political map and into isolationism. The centuries-old mystery was eventually solved after Zanzes, now a relic of the past struggling to play "catch-up" with the rest of the world, re-opened its borders to foreigners. Anthropologists and historians descended on Zanzes to find it had been recoiling from a devastating natural calamity which had pushed it back into the dark ages when the rest of the world was on the cusp of modern industry. If history had been kinder, perhaps Zanzes would have remained one of the greatest powers in Noctur.
It would not be so; Jasper's presence in Zanzes was the beginning of another catastrophe. His true, hidden task had been merely to test the waters of the tensions that existed on the border. To this end, he'd orchestrated a few menial skirmishes to put the North and South Zanze further at ends with each other. The fact that this power-play had resulted in political discord in South Zanzes was just icing on the cake. Three out of South Zanzes's five states had openly defied the Emperor's efforts at diplomacy as the squabbles continued, and now Hadin was on the brink of being able to declare a "war on terror". Adami's superiors at home were pleased, and an opulent retirement was within Jasper's reach. All that was needed now was one final push, and Jasper knew exactly where to get that push from.
Har'et Tahir Shujaa was a mid-ranked bureaucrat working in the township of Pasir'han. What most people didn't know about Shujaa was that he was a South Zanzean sympathizer, and that sensitive information which happened to cross his desk occasionally found its way into the hands of South Zanzean extremists. In turn, the extremists were using this information to further antagonize the North Zanzean people they'd once called their countrymen. This inevitably led to actions which allowed the Hadinian press to demonize the South Zanze as radicals who were attempting to upheave the order Hadin was attempting to set forth in North Zanzes. As South Zanzes played further and further into Adami's hands, any attempts by Nui-ta to try and smooth things over with diplomacy became more and more futile. Thus, the perfect storm was nearing completion.
Adami did know about Har'et Tahir Shujaa's treasonous activities, which he'd found out from contacts in the Pasir'han government who were getting ready to out Shujaa as a traitor to the North Zanzean state. Rather than allow the arrest to occur, Adami had managed to get clearance from the Hadinian authorities to suspend any legal action against Shujaa and instead slowly coax the unwitting man into thinking no one was any wiser to his crimes. Before long, Shujaa showed signs of becoming more comfortable and daring with the information he leaked, and thus Adami and his contacts fed Shujaa more information to ensure that he too would become putty in their hands. Shujaa's leaks had become reliable enough for South Zanzeans on the other side to trust his information with little vetting. Adami had chosen, for Shujaa's final leak, a small piece of false information which would set off a tidal wave of chaos.
Through Shujaa, the extremists would come to find that Hadin was pre-emptively planning an act of state-sponsored terror in South Zanzes. They would find that there were hidden efforts to disguise this terror attempt by hiding plans, weapons, and operatives in plain sight. One such hidden base for these terror attempts would be in a small, backwater hamlet no one cared about called Rinayuris. In actuality, Rinayuris was nothing but a small papaya plantation, and the only Hadinian agents who operated in that area were religious missionaries and their contracted protection. Of course, by the time South Zanzes realized this, they would likely have already burned Rinayuris to the ground. This final attack, motivated by lies, and fear, and hate, would surely give North Zanzes (and Hadin) the justification they needed to force military action. By the time the truth came to light that South Zanzes had been tricked, it would be far too late to halt the Hadinian war machine. The Theocracy would have a fantastic opportunity to exert an increased amount of control over Karas as a whole, perhaps finally cementing itself as the dominant power in Septima's grace.
January 14th, NC 4068 - North Zanzes, the village of Rinayuris
When blue papaya crops burn, there's a distinct smell. One could describe it as charcoal with a hint of ammonia --- or maybe that was a result of the fertilizer on the soil combusting as well. Asrar didn't have a lot of time to think about it.
It wasn't just the crops that were on fire, but everything else too. Every house in Rinayuris was on fire. When Hadin had spread its influence into North Zanzes, the Hadinians had brought updated infrastructure into the country. This was much more effectively done in the cities and towns, which all boasted the same concrete and asphalt roads, similar electrical grids, and working water systems. It had helped that those parts of Zanzes which had been the most advanced before Zanzes's fall almost two hundred years ago had remnants of steam and water systems from those centuries ago which still worked and simply needed a face-lift.
Rinayuris and other small locales like it had no such luck. Just as missionary efforts were more diluted on account of the rather backwoods nature of such a place, so too were infrastructural upgrades. Unlike places like Zanzibar, Rinayuris had no existing infrastructure from the days of old either. It had always been a small settlement of dirt floors and thatched roofs. Once, this had given it a sort of charm in the midst of the industrialization going on not far away from it.
That charm would not save it now. The billowing smoke surrounded Asrar as she ran, disorienting her and cutting off precious air. As she stumbled to the ground and attempted to crawl to safety, she could hear the popping sounds in the distance closing in.
Bang Bang! "La tutrak'u wahid yaq!"3
Knowing the men meant the people of Rinayuris, Asrar panicked and continued crawling away. At one point, she tried to pull herself back to a standing position; to run, rather than crawl, as far as her legs would take her. There was another bang-whizz!! sound as she made this attempt, and she soon watched with horror as an old man's figure collapsed suddenly just to her left. The man was an eighty-year old who'd lived in the hut next to hers with his family --- or at least he had been, until the invading soldiers gunned him down in cold blood before her. Seeing his still open eyes, already turning glassy as a smear of blood trickled from his mouth, Asrar froze in terror and remained low to the ground. Hazy figures, some with guns, some unarmed and screaming, ran around her. None seemed to notice she was there. The smoke rose above her low position on the ground, not quite choking her but still burning her airways and clouding her senses. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her. Asrar screamed.
"Sssh!!" The man coaxed her, covering her mouth with one of his large hands. For a moment, Asrar feared one of the attacking soldiers had found her, but as the man pulled her with him out of the smoke and into the nearby woods, Asrar realized she'd seen him before. This was one of the missionary men from Hadin.
"Esne saucius?"4 She did not speak his Hadinian tongue, and looked at him with confusion as he pulled her to her feet and dusted her off. He quickly realized the gap in their communications, and corrected himself by switching the same question to her own language: Halant taldit?
"I-I...I'm fine," she lied to him. She certainly didn't feel fine, and yet there was no denying she'd likely be much worse off if he hadn't found her when he did. The missionary man, who she remembered to be called Vel, began pulling her further into the woods where she soon found a few other Rinayuris residents waiting for them. One by one, the missionaries had apparently been leading them to safety from the flames. Most of the escapees were children; a few elderly men and women and only three young men and women stood with them. Talmir was nowhere to be seen. Two other Hadinians, one missionary and one travelling doctor, were also present in the group, trying to administer first aid to a belligerent woman who was bleeding profusely from the abdomen. The two men were having a hard enough time keeping her from screaming and alerting the attacking soldiers to the group's location. In the process of pulling her from the burning village, they had inadvertently stopped her from running into her home and retrieving her child. Somewhere in the process of all of this chaos, a stray bullet had pierced her.
"Euseo and Lambi have guns. You stay here, I have to go grab others if I can," Vel advised Asrar. He gestured to the two armed men Euseo was a mercenary, rather than a missionary, who'd been contracted to the Hadinian missionaries to protect them on their journey. Lambi was another resident of Rinayuris. Vel hesitated for a moment, noticing Asrar had not let go of him. Her hands were trembling as she stared out past the edge of the woods, where the haze of smoke could still be seen. Behind them, the wailing woman suddenly fell silent.
"She's dead..." the doctor said, shaking his head. The remaining missionary closed the dead woman's eyes, hastily mumbling a prayer. As he finished, Vel loosened Asrar's hands before running back towards the town. To everyone's surprise, he soon returned with a crying six-year-old boy, though this child was not the same as the one whose mother had just passed away in front of Asrar.
"Vel?" The other missionary asked, getting up to help. Vel Ammirati passed the child over to the group to be calmed down before shaking his head. "I think that's the most I can do...the only others I saw were shooting at me or dead".
"We need to go," Euseo warned the two missionaries. The mercenary had used the Zanzeanic tongue to extend this warning indirectly to the Rinayuris survivors.
"What about Aleandro?" The second missionary asked about a colleague. "He could still be down there helping others escape".
"If they haven't escaped some other way already, they're dead by now," Euseo said coldly, switching to Hadinian Latin. "If they have escaped, we'll likely see them at the main outpost for this region soon enough. We need to get these people to safety and report what's happened to the authorities. It's a bit of a trip, but I suggest we make for Albava. There should be a local town in between that we can drop the civilians off at. Pasir'han, I think it's called?"
"Why go all the way to Albava instead of stopping at Pasir'han and notifying the local authorities, unless you mean to contact the Hadinian government specifically.." Vel surmised, also speaking in Latin while gently coaxing the frightened civilians into a group. "Euseo, who the hell were those people? I'm not aware of any kind of organized militia forces in this part of North Zanzes".
"Because they weren't North Zanzean," Euseo replied, switching back to a language Asrar could understand. "Those were South Zanzean men attacking Rinayuris. We may have just witnessed the outbreak of war. If that's true, we can't afford to take any chances..."
Euseo turned to address the group as a whole, "...so I need everyone here to start walking. We have a long walk ahead of us".
Obediently, the group began to follow after Euseo, with Vel taking a spare gun from Euseo and covering the back of the group. Asrar stayed near him, watching him cautiously look back and scan for threats coming from the pillar of smoke that had once been her home. For a moment, she turned her head away, glancing off in the general direction of where Khatibi's familiar hut was. There too, she noticed another pillar of smoke. The old gods, much like the Septimist one, had no power here.
The wee hours of January 14th, NC 4068 - Kaurizil, Nui-ta
The Emperor was brushing his teeth and getting ready to go to bed when the telephone rang.
It was one specific telephone that was ringing. Hooked up in key locations of the Emperor's residence to one specific phone line, it would only ring when the Emperor was on his personal time and something very serious was happening. Hurrying to put his shirt back on and rinsing the Oral Pleartgrav brand toothpaste out of his mouth, the Emperor picked up the telephone and heard the voice of Prime Minister Binyamin Hajukugi on the line. This was already concerning enough as it was because Hajukugi wasn't much of a talker. Strong and silent, Binyamin's severe countenance was rather unusual for a politician --- but it came with the side effect of knowing that when Binyamin did choose to initiate a conversation, it was best to listen.
"There's been a situation with External Affairs," Hajukugi advised the Emperor.
"Hadin?" Rowan asked in response.
"No...and yes". Somehow, Rowan already knew what that cryptic response meant, and let out a semi-stifled "Shit! under his breath.
"South Zanzes," he stated, half-asking only for confirmation.
"It's bad. Whatever they did, Hadin's so furious they're now on our doorstep. We only have a short amount of time before this hits the media. The Councilman of Foreign Affairs from Hadin is requesting to be transferred to this line by External Affairs; I guess he's on the line with them right now. Apparently he told someone there the gist of what happened, but no one's telling me".
"I'll talk to him. Send him over right away". Before long, another voice, much older and somewhat wispy with a strong Hadinian accent, came on the line. Olaf Gering, Hadin's current Head of Foreign Affairs, had unfortunately spoken with Rowan di-Amori before. Their conversations were becoming common enough to where Olaf had taken to addressing Rowan in the Emperor's native tongue out of respect, despite the Hadinian's lack of fluency. Still, this was the first conversation conducted on the emergency line.
"Your Highness".
"Mr. Gering".
"You are knowing that all my tries to reach the..." Olaf paused before switching to English momentarily... "South Zanzean Foreign Affairs Department..."
Another switch, back to Melodian, "...they are useless?"
"Given recent events, it unfortunately doesn't surprise me".5
"I regret to speak bad of you. You are only helpful South Zanzean leadership, but your government not so helpful and need express control. In Hadin, unhelpful government are set on fire by High-Envoy".
"I..." Rowan gulped for a moment before switching to Hadinian Latin. "...I'm not sure you said what you think you said, Mr. Gehring. Again in your native tongue, please?"
"Oh. Sorry". The Hadinian official then switched to his mother tongue before stating: "I regret to criticize you considering that you're the only government official of South Zanzes I can rely on for any diplomatic efforts, but your government are utterly useless and I wish there were more avenues for you to express control over them. Here in Hadin, such incompetence would see me fired by the High-Envoy".
After a moment's pause, Olaf added in Latin, "...what did you think I said?"
"You said dol'kalnai kaurkarini High-Envoy sal-maig, which means the High Envoy literally sets the government on fi---....you know what? Don't worry about it. Why are you calling so late? Please continue in Latin".
"Oh. My apologies for that mistranslation. Very well," Olaf confided, "let's get right to the point. We have confirmation that a South Zanzean force invaded a North Zanzean town. The town was put to the torch. North Zanzean and Hadinian casualties are confirmed". At Olaf's news, Rowan felt himself nearly choke on his own tongue.
Shiiiiittttt.
"To make matters worse, the South Zanzean government has been completely un-cooperative in addressing the issue. I'm sure you're aware by the fact that I've exhausted going through diplomatic back-channels and the South Zanzean Foreign Affairs office that I'm now reaching out to you directly via Nui-ta's External Affairs office".
"I'll do everything I can to address the issue with the Chancellorship of South Zanzes at once. I'll have an answer as soon as possible for you as to why this happened and what measures we're going to take about it".
"I'm well aware that you will, Emperor. I have no quarrel with you, and I have full confidence that at least your cooperation on this sensitive matter is guaranteed. Let me re-emphasize emphatically that I am advocating as minimal damage to the Hadinian and Nui-tan diplomatic relationship as can be had in a situation like this. Just as Hadin is duty-bound to North Zanzes, we understand that Nui-ta is bound to South Zanzes. You may soon have no other choice but to intervene just as we must intervene now. I aim to make that interaction between Nui-ta and Hadin as smooth as possible".
"Now, I have reason to believe that this is not an officially sanctioned attack on North Zanzes by the South Zanzean government. For this reason, having exhausted all of my other options for a smooth and decisive end to this conflict we now face, I'm reaching out to you directly. With this having been said, I have it on good authority that there will be a declaration of war exercised by High-Envoy Matfei Di Pascari within hours. I am doing all within my power to have it be a declaration of war on terror, rather than an international war between our countries and yours outright. I believe suing for this option will ultimately make this campaign much less costly for us all in the end. I am even hoping that it might open the door for us to co-operate against the elements of terror Hadin and North Zanzes are currently combating, though I know that has to be put to extensive debate in Nui-ta before you can speak to such a possibility".
"Mr. Gehring, do you think it might be possible for you to submit all intelligence you have on this matter to Nui-ta as soon as possible?"
"I can determine if that will be a possibility".
"Good. I have to make several calls now. I'll need to contact you again --- or perhaps even High-Envoy Matfei Di Pascari once I've done what I need to do. Can I count on being able to reach you again as soon as possible?"
"I will advise our communications team to direct you to either myself, High-Envoy Di Pascari, or another Envoy of the Theocracy when you have collected what information you need to on this matter. I look forward to discussing a quick resolution, though I must warn you, the Envoyship as a whole are enraged. War is an inevitabity now, and I can only hope to limit its scope".
"Understood. We'll talk shortly, Councilman". Once Olaf was on the phone, Rowan's first call, on his business phone, was to his chief of staff, Ali Rastkar.
"I need you to help me get the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Ministers of External Affairs and Defense on the phone. Now. And tell Sharina I'll be gone all night tonight". Once that call was done, he switched back over to the emergency line, frantically dialing the number of Chancellor Farhana Abdulrashid Imen. It was Imen's secretary who picked up the phone, prompting fury from Rowan.
"I don't care if he's on the goddamned moon, get Imen on this line!"
January 15th, NC 4068 - Official Address by High-Envoy Matfei Di Pascari
My fellow Envoys of the Hadinian Theocracy, and esteemed members of the Vir Consili...
Yesterday, January 14th, Nocturian Calendar Year 4068, our North Zanzean brothers were suddenly and deliberately attacked by South Zanzean agents.
The Theocracy of Hadin and its North Zanzean protectorate were at peace with that nation and, at solicitation of the Nui-tan Empire, still in conversation with the Emperor of Nui-ta and South Zanzes looking to the maintenance of peace on our Karasian Straits. We are at full understanding with the Emperor that this attack and other acts of aggression towards the North Zanzean people by South Zanzean entities have been done without the approval of the South Zanzean executive branch. I will freely admit that our own diplomatic communications with South Zanzes, in the wake of recent events over the past few months, stated an honest confession that it seemed useless to continue existing diplomatic negotiations. However, I will also add that these sentiments were made without any desire or threat of war or armed attack.
Our diplomats and agents in North Zanzes have been monitoring the situation in our protectorate for some time to ascertain exact avenues for a cessation of tensions. It will be recorded that the wake of the rise of aggression by South Zanzean entities over the past several months, despite every attempt at diplomacy by government entities, makes it obvious that these attacks will continue without our intervention over the next several weeks, or months, or possibly even years. While the South Zanzean executive branch and their associated state of Nui-ta have genuinely engaged in diplomatic efforts to cool tensions in the region, the utter lack of co-operation from the Zanzeanic populace itself makes it clear that further efforts at diplomacy are merely false statements of continued hope for peace.
We have passed the usage of diplomacy. If the Hadinian Theocracy is to fulfill its duties of protection to the North Zanzean people now, we must do so by armed conflict. Decisive, defensive, armed conflict.
We are not without cause in this endeavor. I regret to inform the Hadinian Theocracy and the North Zanzean protectorate that the latest attack on North Zanzean soil has seen the loss of innocent North Zanzean and Hadinian life. Local North Zanzean infrastructure has been damaged extensively, delaying efforts by both Hadin and North Zanzes to lift North Zanzes expediently into the modern world. I also regret to inform the world that this latest, most brutal attack on North Zanzean soil is not the only attempt at sabotage of a peaceful, developing nation. South Zanzean officials have condemned and attacked simple North Zanzean industries and towns. They have shut down many reconciliation points within the demarcation zone for families separated by the divide of Zanzes to have peaceful reunions and interactions with each other. Their radicalization efforts of North Zanzean civilians has led to the discovery of spies within our midst, such as a treacherous individual who we believe to have been feeding the South Zanzean extremists information for months and enabling their efforts at terrorism. Their efforts even include ties to the near-miss attack on our own Hadinian soil in Kastabal, during the Karasian Cup finals, which if successful would have caused the deaths of countless Hadinian, Zanzean, and Nui-tan spectators.
The facts speak for themselves. The people of the Hadinian Theocracy and within the North Zanzean protectorate have formed their opinions and understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nations. As High-Envoy of the Hadinian Theocracy, I have advised the Commanders of both the Hadinian and North Zanzean militaries to take all necessary measures for our defense. No matter how long it may take us to overcome these unprecedented attacks, I believe that our forces will achieve absolute victor through our righteous might. I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the utmost, but make it certain that this form of treachery will never threaten us again. With no further ability to deny that our people, our territories, and our way of life is in great danger, I pray for a swift and decisive resolution in this conflict and an inevitable triumph, so help us Septima!
With the consent of the High-Envoyship of Hadin as a whole, and the co-operation of the Lord Governor of North Zanzes, I declare that since the latest unprovoked and dastardly attack by South Zanzean terrorist elements on Thursday, January 14th, NC 4068, the Hadinian Theocracy and its affiliated states are in a state of war with those rogue elements of South Zanzean society.
1 In much of the rest of the world, blue papaya was a reference to a particular strain of the Cannabis sativa plant, which, strangely, was not the type of blue papaya being cultivated here in Rinayuris. There was something peculiar about select locales on the Zanzeanic landmass that allowed for the cultivation of actual blue papaya, meaning a version of the plant known under the scientific name Carica papaya, sporting an almost iridescent, aquamarine hue.
2In the wake of Septimism's rise in North Zanzes, those North Zanze who refused to identify as Septimists often found their living conditions grim. At best, such as in the case of Khatibi, they were exiled from their rural societies and stripped of all but their personal names --- a great mark of shame in Zanzean society, northern or southern. Oftentimes when they could not elude Hadinian authorities by simple exile, they were subjected to classified re-education programs. Some haven't been heard from since.
3 "Don't leave a single one standing!"
4 "Are you hurt?"
5 Rowan di-Amori is the official Head of State of both Nui-ta and South Zanzes, although his influence is more strongly felt in Nui-ta due to the monarchy's establishment in that country for so long. While South Zanzes was the party that initially pushed to join the Nui-tan Empire, recent months have seen it far less co-operative to fall in line with Nui-ta. To make matters worse, the current government of South Zanzes is currently at odds with its Emperor, causing some political instability.
It's a secret, though the truth, to say that Emperor Rowan di-Amori would much rather cut South Zanzes loose given their lack of diplomatic co-operation with recent conflicts. This is especially true considering that he was a dissenting voice in the decision to have South Zanzes recognize him as a suzerain. However, certain legal barriers in the Constitution (among other things) make this an impossibility.
