World Cup 91 [roleplays]

[Juvencus]

The Second Great War of Unification(1876-1892)

As trench warfare became the norm at the end of the 1870s entering into the 1880s, battles became more slow-paced but also deadlier than anticipated. Hit and run battles were still common, but the importance of trenches and other styles of fortifications in important locations could slow down pushes and give time for reinforcements to arrive and perhaps push any invaders back. From an offensive standpoint, the only way to ever realistically push through a trench was to hope that the artillery shellings would destroy enough of the defenders' gatling guns which saw extensive usage in every single stage of the war and not have way too many soldiers die of disease or during the pushes. With morale on their side, this is exactly what the Scudelliano hoped for while pushing towards one of Santo Domenico's most important cities, Vinceti.

A Busy War, painting by Joan Mateu, ~circa 1899

Chapter 14: Siege of Vinceti(October 17th 1879-February 3rd 1880)
Part 1: Push through the Eastern Crescent(October 17th-October 30th 1879)
"Only under the blistering heat does one realise that fighting intelligently is more brilliant than fighting valiantly." Serafim Antinoos, Domenican writer in his personal biography, ~circa 1901

Prince Heir Michelangelo II had constant communication with his father, Prince Carlo IV of Scudelli. Both of them were aware of the situation Torona was situated in, despite the entrenchment, the Unionist Coalition had pushed deep enough in Toronese terrtory. However they also realised that this would slow their efforts in Santo Domenico, so ending the business fast enough in the east would mean they could get more involved in the west later on and push the Unionists back. Capturing Vinceti was in the sights of Michelangelo II, being Santo Domenico's second most important city after the homonymous capital, capturing it following surrounding it from land would be much easier than water and as such reinforcements would join him in a larger push towards Vinceti. As for Paurosse, a large, yet secondary force was stationed in Ioletta led by General Marco Alibrandi set to attack at a later, undisclosed time frame.

Pushing through the Eastern Crescent would be an arduous task, a constant supply chain was needed and with Santo Domenico's advanced railway system, it would be good to remain close to the tracks if they were to not remain out of supplies. Problems also included a number of villages in the railway's path, villages that were ready to fight and were well-equipped on their own with contingents of the Domenican Army stationed near them as well. Lastly, the blistering heat of the desert would be the biggest obstacle as those who would get sick would have every single symptom intensified by the lack of water.

The first stages would not involve a lot of fighting as much as moving a lot and capturing several villages along the way. Most of the time this would include small skirmishes that did not escalate into full-blown fighting. The most notable of those would be a lightning quick strike to take place was a village called Borini to the direct north of Vinceti on October 27th. At 8:00 AM local hours a highly coordinated unit split into 3 echelons that all striked at the village all at once, the small Domenican group stationed at the village not knowing where to shoot at started randomly to no avail, as the Scudellianos had caught up extremely fast. At 8:45 AM local hours, they had to surrender as they had been surrounded on all corners. The villagers provided no resistance, but instead welcomed them as heroes as the majority were Scudellianophiles. Some Domenican soldiers were executed however, due to bad behavior upon capturing.

With the occupations of Sorano and Noto in the later 3 days, the setup towards the siege of Vinceti was complete. Despite the seemingly large amount of casualties, reinforcements were always on the way to help extra with the siege despite the fact the number of soldiers and artillery as was was adequate enough. A staggering force of 75,000 soldiers, many of which were planned to be used in a future campaign towards Santo Domenico itself, if everything was to go according to plan in Vinceti. 200 cannons were also brought and a lot of which saw combat before they even reached their destinations outside Santo Domenico. Michelangelo II, knowing that small-scale combat was officially over, was ready to lead his troops in one of the largest and costliest sieges of the war and the first great siege since the one of Pomena the year prior.

Battle Outcomes: All small battles that occured in the setup were victorious by the Scudelliano Army, that didn't record many losses in combat.

Principality of Scudelli: 75,000 troops, 200 cannons, 95 gatling guns(of which 15 were confiscated from the Domenican Army), 1,095 casualties, 2 cannons lost
Principality of Santo Domenico: 12,000 troops, 35 cannons, 65 gatling guns, 3,700 casualties, 5,000 captured, 350 executed, 10 cannons lost, 15 gatling guns confiscated, 15 gatling guns lost

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

HOLY EMPIRE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION PRESS CONFERENCE

"Hello, I'm Nicephorus Palaeologo, spokesperson for the Holy Empire Football Association, and I've been asked by HEFA to answer some of your questions before tomorrow's match against Chartistan. I know that some of you mundies have concerns about what's happening to the imperial football team, and I want to put your minds at rest."

"Hello Mr Palaeology"

"Palaeologo"

"Whatevs. I'm Billiam Maskey, chief-editor-in-chief of The Turnip. Look, so far your players have been sprouting hands from buttocks, growing three heads, grown an extra pair of behind the ears, seen baby heads sprout from their hips, grown a leg out of the top a head, grown extra feet out of their wrists, sprouted four new legs, grown a necklace of ears, extended themselves by an extra torso, sprouted extra hands from the buttocks, and asymmetrically grown an extra two heads..."

"You've perhaps forgotten Michael Ducaso growing two rows of blinking eyes running down each arm during the 3-2 loss to Vilita, and substitute goalkeeper Juan Neokaisareites sprouting 28 fully functional thumbs down the front of his chest while sitting on the bench during the match against New Eestiball, but otherwise that sounds like a fair summary."

"Really?"

"Yes; do you have a question?"

"Look, if I wrote something like that in the pages of The Turnip, Mr Palaeolithic, everyone would think I'm completely mad. I mean... how am I going to report on this without making a mockery of my newspaper's reputation?"

"Well, that's up to you to decide, no doubt. I would only stress that our team is completely and utterly normal in every single possible way. The two losses in qualifying are perhaps a bit unfortunate, but we're only humanoid trans-dimensional beings, after all. Next question!"

"Nikki Kater, Rebel Time, Vilita"

"May I take this moment to congratulate the Jungle Rebels for their 3-2 victory a few match days past."

"You're very kind, Mr Palaeologo."

"You're welcome. Your question?"

"Well, your team are a totally normal and not in anyway extremely powerful and all capable mutating creatures from the Dreamed Realm, but these mutation thingies are really spooking some of us out. Care to comment?"

"We don't fear to lose; the fear of loss is a path to the dark side."

"Sorry? The ... dark side?"

"Indeed; Mr Tzimisces has always warned us about staying positive following a loss instead of giving into our dark sides. The dark side of football is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be ... unnatural"

"More unnatural than sprouting two extra heads or hands growing out of your buttocks?"

"All I can say is that Mr Tzimisces is clear that once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. The important thing is to stay positive when life throws a few challenges your way - especially in World Cup qualifying."

"Challenges like sprouting an extra torso, or rows of eyes down your arms?"

"I find your lack of faith disturbing. We have a completely normal bunch of players, who are just experiencing some minor physical challenges of the sort that all teams face during an extended World Cup qualifying campaign."

"All teams? Can you point out to me any other teams whose players have grown extra legs or feet from their wrists? Much of the multiverse does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation."

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering; we shan't give into fear. We're an ordinary and completely normal football team who are just facing a few challenges. Next question!"

"Anna Comneno, Holy Empire Herald."

"A pleasure to see you, as always, Ms Comneno."

"Thank you, Mr Palaeologo. Now, despite the Holy Empire's team being completely and utterly normal in every single way - despite what mundies might think - I can't help but wonder what's causing these teensy little physical challenges, and whether they're putting our cute little mundy friends in danger."

"Perfectly sensible questions Ms Comneno. On the first, it's our hope that Professor Von Madscientisto will be in a position to make an announcement following the next matchday. On the second, clearly no. Only Holy Empire football players have been impacted, and there have been no mutations either among mundies or Imperial citizens who have been in contact with the team. I can state with confidence that no one except the team are in danger from this bizarre... I mean, totally normal minor physical deformities.

I regret that's all we have time for today, but I hope that's put your minds at rest. I stress that the team remains completely normal in every single possible way."

[Srednjaci]

official web site

WORLD CUP 91 -Farfadillis / Graintfjall/ Turori

UNBEATABLE AT HOME

Our team continues with great games in the qualifications for WC91. Although the defeat by Mertagna has been registered, we are happy to play at home and in front of the home fans. Our players give their maximum and for now they have a 100% performance on the home field. Our national football team, they achieved all the victories.
we hope that
will remain so until the end of the qualifications because we have difficult matches and demanding opponents ahead of us. Brenecia is certainly one of them.




WC 91 Group 8

Mertagne - H- 3:1 W; A 1:2 L
Gyatso-kai - A 4:3 W; H 4:2 W
Polkopia - H 4:1 W
Brenecia- A 4:3 L
Maphidon - H 4:1 W
Omerica- A 1:0 L
Kuraita- H 1:0
Natanians and Nosts
Arjunnagar
Eura

KATANIJA , NATIONAL STADIUM : BLUE OYSTER



Katanija is the capital of DR Srednjaci. It is also the largest city in the country. Economic, political and military center. Katanija has the strongest financial sector in the country and also has the most universities.


KATANIJA is the capital with 19,000,000 inhabitants.
It is the seat of government and the economic center of DR Srednjaci.
Katanija is first mentioned 600 years ago when in a storm merchants from the north strayed and came across the settlement.
Katanija in the old language means "enter". The language barrier actually gave the settlement its name. The merchant knocked on the door and asked the host what the name of this place was, and the host replied with a smile, "Katanija = come in," thinking that the merchant was asking him if he could take shelter from the rain.
Katanija began to develop later with the establishment of a trading post and an administrative building. With the arrival of the scholar Don Bernard Rivić, the first high school was established.
Peoples from the east also immigrated to Katanija, bringing with them other crafts such as glassmaking and goldsmithing.
The development of Katanija briefly stopped the pre-medieval war of the peoples of the Far East. After a siege of the city that lasted 6 weeks, the city surrendered to the khanata of Wei Xu.
Due to the disease of his troops and lack of food, the Easterners withdrew back to their Changxi empire.
Katania moved forward to a new war. King Dalat 2 established the Central Kingdom of Dalatia and declared Katanija the capital. He built a magnificent palace, today it is a museum and cultural heritage, a tourist attraction.
After the unification of all the slanders, Katanija briefly lost its position, but after the civil war and the establishment of the Republic, Katanija regained its position as the capital.
Katanija is the only city in DR Srednjaci that has two civilian airports.
It is located in the southeast of the country towards the border of today's Saint Shokai.
To the north are the slopes of the mountain Bijeli Vrh and to the south is Lake Bulat.
The river Modra flows through the town itself, which springs on the slopes of the mountain and flows into the sea.
The river Modra is navigable, so it transports goods and people.
In addition to the nearby mountain, on the east side are wooded hills and a national nature park.
Hikers, recreationists and mountaineers love to stay in these hills. The mountain lodges offer original food and drinks and the nature park has limited access to people so as not to disturb the biodiversity and ecosystem.

: @Srednjaci vs Mertagne - 3:1
: @Srednjaci vs Omerica
: @Srednjaci vs Arjunnagar
: @Srednjaci vs Eura

MELARIT

BLUE VOLCANO STADIUM - Melarit



HISTORY

The history of Melarit dates back to ancient times. Melarit was an important city for trade.
Trade meant a lot to the city, where in addition to trade, shipbuilding, production of oil, wheat, salt, stone and shellfish also developed.
There are records that the production and export of shellfish was a very lucrative business. Melarit was proud of his navy, they were excellent sailors.
All this leaves a lot of room for the development of the city in education and science.
Melarit has developed over the centuries and today is one of the most beautiful cities on the coast. It is the second largest city in Srednjaci.
In recent history, Melarit is the largest port in DR Srednjaci and one of the largest in the region. The cargo port carries an enormous amount of cargo. Apart from being a large port, Melarit is also a tourist destination with a large number of hotels and resorts. The rich historical and cultural heritage attracts millions of tourists every year.



:@ Srednjaci vs Gatso Kay
:@Srednjaci vs Polkopia- 4:1 W
:@Srednjaci vs Natanians and Nosts
:@Srednjaci vs Kuraita

KULA

KULA GOLDEN EYE STADIUM



@Srednjaci vs Brenecia
@Srednjaci vs Maphidon- 4:1 W

[Ochre Islands]

'They're on about the bridge again, Foreign Secretary.'

Byron sighed. This was the fourth time this week he'd received a diplomatic missive from Cardenao attached to one of the bundles of flax that were still rather insistent on being delivered directly outside the Foreign Ministry, at the weight of one full bin lorry per time. It was making wonderful business for Ghilbertini's and some equally wonderful soundbites for Secretary Leifox.

'It's a valient undertaking at least' the Foreign Secretary said. 'Though I am concerned they'll bankrupt themselves, taking a solid chunk of the region with them and more importantly stop sending us flax.'

'Flax' he thought. 'Precious, precious flax.' Leifox really was looking forward to the PM, Senator Ginsley resigning. There were rumours a few years ago but it came to nothing. The Ochres were in a strange state of flux where everyone was simultaneously waiting for an election and also dreading it coming. The last place hadn't filled them with confidence that anything could be free and fair.

'Perhaps we suggest a bridge to the Ochres instead, but a meta-'

'LEIFOX.' The Defence Secretary, Johan Kuernton, was quite a shouty man at the best of times but today he seemed extra shouty. 'How many of our coastguard vessels exactly have we given to Cardenao?'

'Well, Johan, g'morning to you. It was around 20 of them. The older ones.' 'The older ones.' 'That's right.'

'ALL WE HAD WERE OLDER ONES.' Johan was definitely cross. 'Could I interest you in some flax?' Leifox asked, glancing out the window as another loaded bin lorry's worth of flax was delivered outside the ministry. 'No, Byron, you cannot. Unless of course that flax can be made into a coastguard vessel to rescue a fishing trawler off the north-east coast?'

'Erm. Didn't we get new ones?' 'Delayed, Byron. We have no fleet. We've had to ask the Krytenians for help.'

There was a gasp.

'The Krytenians?!'

'Yes. THEM. Thank you for your extraordinary efforts. Enjoy your flax.'

[Kelssek]

ALL
FOR
NOTHING

Narrator: "To get back into contention for a qualifying spot, Kelssek needs a strong showing against Hapilopper. They should be able to use the energy from the home crowd in Kirkenes...but it goes badly off the rails."

Commentator: "Lafrenière's gone down, but he's not going to get the free kick and now Hapilopper are away!... Huddleston needs to pick the right option here, and finds Robson!!... No chance for Gallagher! Hapilopper hit them on the break and they're cruising to the three points now, and Kelssek with a mountain to climb!... I don't know what Maçon-Petrault is complaining about, there was very little contact there... and you have to say Lafrenière has a reputation for this..."

The camera shows a fan throwing a half-empty plastic cup of beer into the air in disgust, showering a number of other spectators who are a mix of furious at the cup-thrower and too furious at what they're seeing on the pitch to care. Obscenities are clearly lip-readable as some of the nearby fans, who would have to climb over other fans to properly throw fists, remonstrate.

Narrator: "The mood is ugly in the stands, and it's no different among the team, although the players do save it for the locker room."

The camera creeps around the open doorway, but is only able to catch a partial view of Loïc Maçon-Petrault and Issac Lafrenière yelling at each other in Frankish. Subtitles are helpfully appended. Tim Bowler strides quickly past, his expression suggesting he doesn't quite understand what the vice-captain is saying but is quite on board with Issac getting the heat. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Beaulac swear-words and Saint-Remian slang will note that significant meaning has been omitted from Loic's tirade.

MACON-PETRAULT: That was absolute garbage! Grow up! How many times are you going to do that kind of crap? Do they give you fouls for that in Vilita? They play football there don't they? So how have you not learnt to stay on your feet! Years and years I've seen you do this nonsense!
LAFRENIERE: Don't talk, you talk like you've won anything. You've done nothing in your career.
MACON-PETRAULT: What did you say to me you little *****? You're rolling around and waving your arms at the ref while the other team is running away with the ball! They're celebrating a goal and you're going, oh, ref, what did you see-
LAFRENIERE: Mediocre idiot, Directus has gone down since you went there!
MACON-PETRAULT: and I have to look like an idiot trying to complain! If you're not good enough to hold off a defender go to the gym or something, quit and go do bobsleigh or something if you want to slide around all the time!
LAFRENIERE: You went to a club with back to back Champions Leagues and where are they now, you're a fraud!
MACON-PETRAULT: I'm done with you.

Tu peux mange de la marde - you can eat fecal matter - is the actual way the conversation ends. The camera shrinks back from the doorway as, a second later, a shin pad comes flying through followed by a red-faced Loic.

JORGE GUARDIA (Manager): It's a difficult time. It is not easy, the qualifiers, there's a lot of matches, and a small margin can be the difference. Every match, you have to go out for the win. Pressure is there even against weaker teams, because if you drop points and the other strong teams don't, that can also be qualifying or not. So emotions are high. But you know, at this point, I just hope the players take a breath because I just need them to work as a team right now.

[Turori]

The Worst Best Team in History

World Cup 26 Qualifying, Group 6, Various Sites on the Road to Commerce Heights & Oliverry :: There is a beautiful thing about statistics. You can find a best in anything. A worst in anything. A first to do something, a most to do something. A Champion, A loser, a most improved and everything in between. Some statistics can be so obscure they are unlikely to ever be broken - or even attempted again. As an example, it is unlikely a team will ever automatically qualify for the World Cup by finishing in 3rd place or lower in a qualifying group. There are certainly records out there associated with the lowest point total to automatically qualify for the World Cup that wouldn't be even up for debate until some future point where more than a single team in each group can automatically qualify for the World Cup.

KPB	Nation	TKP Odds
. 8 .	. Turori . .E E L S . .	5:2
26	Casari	7:2
45	Yafor 2	12:1
83	Swilatia	24:1
120	The Kazoo Peoples	80:1
184	Rolatia	400:1
UR	Hiiraan	1000:1

Then there are the records that can't be broken - not because the scenarios required to present them no longer apply, but simply because it would not be possible to achieve such a result or record that exceeds the parameters set by a prior result or record. This is where we introduce the Turori National Team for World Cup 26. The Worst Best Team in History.

There are some parallels between World Cup 26 and the current World Cup 91 in that both tournaments would go with a 15 group format. The primary difference being that playoffs were not common in the World Cup during World Cup 26 and only the top 2 teams would advance to the knockout rounds. During World Cup 91 only the top team is guaranteed to advance with the second and third place teams advancing to a playoff to fill out the remaining 15 spots in the World Cup Finals.

Heading into World Cup 26 the top team in the KPB Rankings was Sarzonia. Starblaydia (3rd), Squornshelous (4th) Turori (8th) and Krytenia (10th) were the other top seeded nations who competed in World Cup 26 and are also represented in World Cup 91. Vilita (21st), Jeruselem (24th), Milchama (47th) and Legalese (135th) are the other four nations who competed both in World Cup 26 and currently in World Cup 91.

It is no surprise that the Turori National Team were favored to top Group 6. As the top seeded nation in the group, Turori had made eight consecutive knockout round appearances in the World Cup Finals being eliminated each of those eight times by either Audioslavia, Rejistania or Sarzonia. The defeat to Audioslavia during the previous cycle was particularly difficult for the Eels as it was Audioslavia who denied Turori the opportunity to fight for a World Cup Title on home turf and the Eels were looking to return the favor during World Cup 25 hosted in Audioslavia but instead got knocked out by the Bulls for the third time in 7 cycles.

Turori's biggest - and some might say only threat in Group 6 was the rising Atlantian Oceania based nation of Casari who were the runners up in the Cup of Harmony two cycles prior. Also contesting Group 6 would be Yafor 2, the reigning Cup of Harmony Champion nation.

Things would start out exactly as expected for Turori. A 4-0 victory over Rolatia on the opening matchday would plant the Eels straight atop the Group 6 table on goal differential over Casri and Yafor 2, just as many predicted the final table would end. The Roaltian Telegraph lived up to their name, Telegraphing the result before the match during their Group 6 preview:

TURORI (8): Ouch. A top 8 team to face - that isn't going to be pretty for us. I predict a home loss and an away loss. If we can beat them or even tie with them, that's some achievement

Of course, with Turori being the best team in Group 6 coming in with the highest KPB Ranking and Top Seeded in the draw, pretty much all of the World Cup Qualifying preview's predicted similar fates for each of Turori's opposition. Even Casari4Sport, the top rated publication in Casari - Turori's closest rival in Group 6 - also predicted similar dominance for the Turori National Team while hoping that their own side would be able to play well enough to accompany the Eels in Oliverry & New Manhattan's World Cup 26 Finals:

It looks like an easy road for Turori and ourselves, but we'll only know once we pass MD4. We're stacked with home matchups in the first half, which could bite us in the end. But it's looking safer than it ever has.

By the time World Cup 26 Qualifying had kicked off, Oddsmakers in Monte Carlico had locked in Turori with 5:2 Odds to advance to the World Cup Finals with Casari close behind at 7:2 and Yafor 2 with third highest odds at 12:1. The Turori National Team's opening victory over Rolatia instilled confidence in the oddsmakers that they had their top choice correct. The star of the opening match for Turori was Jutar Ranaso who scored the Eels first two goals of the game and would ultimately be Turori's top goalscorer of the campaign. The oddsmakers would never have predicted, however, that the 4-0 opening matchday victory over Rolatia would be the top-seeded Turori National Teams only victory of the campaign.

As always, however, oddsmakers are fickle and easily spooked. It didn't take much for the Monte Carlico bookies to downgrade Turori's odds - a 1-1 draw on the road to the fifth-seeded Kazoo Peoples on Matchday 2 dropped Turori's odds to 10:1 - now second favored behind Casari. A 3-3 draw with Swilatia on Matchday 3 left the Turori National Team with just five points from their first three matches but against all odds, the Eels were still joint 1st in the Group 6 table along with second seeded Casari who also had a 1-2-0 record but an inferior goal differential compared with the Eels.

The two group favorites would meet for the first time of the campaign in a top of the table clash on Matchday 4. It was without question the signature match of the campaign in Casari who's fans filled their 102,896 capacity National Stadium to capacity despite the driving rain that made even seeing the pitch a difficulty. Turori got on the board first and once again it was Jutar Ranaso with the goal for the Eels who, if they could hold on, would gain a critical three points in a top of the table clash on their way to the World Cup 26 Finals. However, the rains began to let up in the second half giving an opportunity for Casari's unique 3-1-2-1-3 formation to really flex it's muscle. At the half time break, Casari introduced Shelby FC striker Edward Roe to the match in a move that would ultimately shape the outcome of the match. Roe would play the final in a string of passes to find Andy Ronalo who in turn found the back of the net, leveling the scores and ensuring that both teams would take a point away from the match. Just as they had entered the match, Turori and Casari remained joint top of the table after four games despite having just one win a piece.

While it seemed a happy medium for all sides - Casari keeping their unbeaten record with a point against the groups best team - and Turori avoiding defeat on the road against their main rival for the group lead, the game would become a fork in the road with Casari taking the right fork and Turori the left... dark and tumultuous path leading to earning the undesirable title of the Worst Best Team in history.

On Matchday 5 of World Cup 26 Qualifying, everything changed. Previously favored to win the group with 5:2 odds and a near unanimous polling result that Turori would not only make the World Cup Finals, they would do so as Winners of World Cup Qualifying Group 6 - all of a sudden Turori's grip on the group was looking shaking. Then, a visit to Hiiraan firmly knocked Turori out of the list of group favorites. However it wasn't just the fact that the top seeded Turori National Team lost to an unranked nation in World Cup Qualifying, but also the way they lost to them. Turori conceded five goals to an unranked team and lost to them by three goals. "Lopsided" and "Shocking" were words the media used to describe the result but in reality it was just a sign of things to come. A Quote from the Kazoo City Courier following Turori's loss to Hiiraan:

#8 Turori (Group 6), have fallen to #3 in the group. With a record of 1-3-1, and our very own Kazoo Peoples, as well as Yafor 2, nipping at their heels, they may fall even further in the rankings. In fact, Hiiraan (unranked!) defeated them by a margin of 5-2! It seems that Turori relies on fan support a whole lot. And when they don't get it, they suffer. Only six points, with draws with #120 The Kazoo Peoples, #26 Casari, and #83 Swilatia signals lots of trouble ahead! My prediction is that Turori will not qualify.

Just five matches into World Cup Qualifying, Turori had fallen out of the Automatic Qualification Places and already there were new projections that the Eels slide would continue and they would fail to qualify at all. Those projections would be right. Yet none of them would predict just how far Turori would fall.

The Eels' next result was a home draw against Yafor 2 at the Almintora National Stadium. Then, following an off-day, Turori travelled to Rolatia - the same nation which they drubbed 4-0 on the opening matchday, and could only manage a 1-1 draw. Incredibly, however, despite having not won since the opening matchday, the Eels found themselves just two points out of the Automatic Playoff places and would actually climb back into the top two if they could win their next match against the Kazoo Peoples at the Almintora National Stadium.

There were 112 places between the sides in the most recent KPB Rankings. Turori, ranked 8th; The Kazoo Peoples ranked 120th. The match was already memorable for the viral moment when the extra large traveling visitors section of the stadium participated in playing the visitors national anthem using only Kazoo's - though it appeared for a while that it would end up being the only memorable moment from the match after an unexciting first half. When the second half resumed, the Kazoos were out in full force and got the arousal they were looking for from the Brother's Johnson. Taking the corner kick it was Rudy Johnson who delivered the cross to brother Chadd "Double D" Johnson who forced home the low and direct delivery to give the Kazoos the lead. On the back foot, Turori needed to respond and it would be none other than Jutar Renaso scoring another key goal for the Eels - only to continue getting no additional support for the team who would once again have to settle for a draw.

It was a missed opportunity for the Turori National Team who would remain two points out of the Automatic Qualification places with a record of 1-6-1. That was about as good as things would get for the Eels. A road defeat to Swilatia dropped the Eels down to 6th in the group table but still within 3 points of the second placed Kazoo Peoples. Things were getting bad, but they weren't yet reaching critical mass. That would come one matchday later. The Turori National Team would host Casari at the Cednia Beach Center - the largest stadium in the Island Emirate. It was a fitting venue for a budding rivalry between two of Atlantian Oceania's top nations ending in the letter 'i', and supposed to be a top of the table clash in Group 6. Instead, however, it would be the final nail in the coffin of Turori's World Cup 26 Qualifying campaign as Casari would take a comfortable 3-1 victory an cruise away to victory in the Group, automatically advancing to World Cup 26.

The defeat would eliminate Turori from contention to Qualify for World Cup 26. Defeat on the next matchday to Unranked Hiiraan would set up Turori's final match in the Group against Yafor 2. After having won their opening game, Turori were winless in 9 games and were second from bottom in their group. A victory could pull them as high as 4th. There would be no such reprieve as Turori were held to a 1-1 draw with Yafor 2. Couple with Rolatia's victory over the Kazoo Peoples, the Turori National Team dropped down to last place in the Group 6 Table.

Turori, 1-7-4, 10 points. The top seed going in, Turori hangs their head in shame exiting Group 6. Finishing last, having the second-most amount of goals allowed (21). Very disappointing finish -- I thought better of them.

From first to worst, Turori etched their names firmly in concrete and plated in gold as the Worst Best Team in the history of the World Cup Finals.

To be Continued...

[Astograth]

‘We need to put something out,’ his Chief of Staff had said. ‘Support Cassie,’ said his Foreign Affairs Minister. ‘Support Brianna,’ said his Defence Minister. ‘Support both in secret,’ said the Chief Advisor-Minister of Interior, ‘the Strongest will prevail’.

Gaxan, Grand Duke of Astograth, could not make up his mind regarding the evolving crisis in Cassadaigua. Alone in his gilded office, there was simply too much to consider. On the one hand, Cassadaigua was a relatively powerful, stable monarchy. Relations with Astograth or the House of Rumiatzi had never been particularly close, but the Cassadagan royal family was well known for being active in the circuits of Rushmori and interregional royalty – good people. Good country. A sister to Astograth as a model for strong, enlightened monarchy. These were all points in favour of Queen Cassie II and her heir apparent, the future Cassie III. Eura, whom it was Astograthian geopolitical policy to always support, had also not issued any signals, which Rumiatzi took to mean support for the status quo.

On the other hand, Princess Brianna’s claim was strong. Granted, Gaxan was not an expert in Cassadagan succession law, but the way it had been explained to him it seemed patently obvious that the crown of Queen Courtney should have passed to Brianna, as firstborn daughter of Courtney’s firstborn daughter Caitlyn, rather than to Courtney’s second daughter Cassie II. But Gaxan wasn’t too sure about Brianna’s politics, or if it would be the most sensible decision from a geopolitical standpoint. Men’s rights… whatever. A clever ploy to win support for her claim. But her stated aim of ‘liberalisation’ sure sounded a lot like socialism, a Pandora’s box that Brianna would regret if she dared open. Give them a taste and they’d all turn into ‘off with her head’ types, a thought that made Gaxan instinctively loosen the collar of his shirt. His generals, meanwhile, wanted to support Brianna because they could sense a civil war brewing, and he could tell they itched for an excuse to bring out the toys as a peacekeeping force or hell, why not, taking sides directly. They’d been asking for ‘boots on the ground’ all through the Nyowani Kitara war, and if another conflict kicked off Gaxan wasn’t sure he’d be successful in keeping them out. Astograthian military contractors, among them the state company EMEA, would also profit handsomely from a war. There were additional complications, too, like what game were the governments of Yuezhou, Tikariot, and Græntfjall playing?

What weighed the most on Gaxan’s mind, however, was his own trajectory to the throne of Astograth.

The Astograthian monarchy is absolute, with one exception engineered by Aitor III, founder of the modern state: all matters related to succession are the responsibility of the High Lords’ Council, codified in the Constitution. A majority of the seats on the Council were originally appointed by Aitor III and were designed to be irremovable, with each Chair appointing their own successor. This is meant to ensure the Council remains loyal to the founder’s vision for Astograth… through the threat of a succession coup.

The last – and to date only time – the High Lords’ Council have actually pulled off a coup triggered the Succession Crisis of 646-47,with the added fallout of Iturributan independence. Gaxan, then a two-year-old child, had been at the centre of it. He was the son of Princess Edurne, the late Aitor IV’s eldest child, and thus been proclaimed Grand Duke by the High Lords’ Council. The problem was everyone else expected Prince Lastur, the Grand Duke’s son, to be crowned. This had been Aitor IV’s wishes, and the public had long ago assumed he was the heir apparent no matter how many sons Edurne had. The Council instead chose Gaxan and assumed his regency, which provoked Lastur to escape Rumiatzi and rebel against the Council in a guerrilla war. The chaos allowed independence movements to break out in the provinces of Ituraitz and Iturributa; the first was quelled quickly, the latter escalated into a successful revolution. The Council eventually succumbed to the pressure on multiple fronts and confirmed Lastur as the successor to Aitor IV, on the condition that Gaxan – not Lastur’s daughter Nerea – would be the heir. Years later, in 661, Lastur’s death meant Gaxan finally received his birthright as Grand Duke. He sympathised with Brianna’s situation, for it felt similar: they had both been robbed of their succession. His had been restored, hers still could. And if he didn’t support her, it undermined his own position.

Gaxan’s thoughts turned to his own children, which numbered three: Princess Alize, 12; Prince Odol, 11; and Princess Arluzea, 8. Before having any children, Gaxan had successfully negotiated with the High Lords’ Council to modify the Constitution and do away with male-preference in the line of succession. This meant Alize had been the heir apparent from her birth, and Odol had always been second in line… but Gaxan couldn’t help but feel he had planted the seeds for another crisis, one in which Odol sought to invalidate the changes to the succession. Brother against sister. The thought was too terrible to entertain but too terrifying to banish for good. The two seemed to get along well, save for all the times they fought – and that was normal, right? Gaxan couldn’t know, he was an only child. It was the sort of thing that rarely kept him up at night, but when it did it tormented his dreams.

His life had begun with death and fire across Astograth, he an infant pawn of the High Lords. Today it was a shameful time and memory, which everyone would rather sweep under the carpet. Gaxan remembered little of it himself, but he’d seen the documents. The pictures, the footage: downed aircraft over the hills of Sagastia; the Duke’s Loyal Hunters picking off Army troops in the Blue Mountains; tanks on fire on the streets of Garitzeta. Then the consequences, that long and awful time when lawlessness, terrorism, and debauchery ruled Iturributa. That conflict in 646-47 had been relatively short and small-scale, scattered enough that the government could get away with calling it a succession crisis rather than a civil war. Gaxan dreaded to think what a ‘real’ civil war would look like in Astograth. Perhaps he’d get an answer of sorts in Cassadaigua.

“Your Majesty,” called a voice of gravel.

His Palace Guard stood at the door. For an instant, Gaxan’s heart twinged with dread as he imagined the scenario of a palace coup, his own praetorians locking him inside at gunpoint while someone else – cousin Nerea? – seized power. But this was not that; they were leading him to the motorcade that would take him to His Stadium, to see Astograth take on reigning world champions The Holy Empire. Such a coup scenario would be ridiculous, anyway: the Palace Guard had been loyal to Lastur in 646, they had been loyal to Gaxan in 673, and it would be this way forever. For Cassadaigua, there was nothing he could do. Not yet.

[Yue Zhou]

With the Dragons sitting at 5-2-6, it's worth wondering if we're seeing the end of the Hayabusa Era. A crushing 4-1 loss to Nephara, admittedly excused by the match taking place three hours after the Xingruichang Plaza attack, meant the Dragons had lost more than they'd won in the qualifying campaign. And while The Gothanita Isles presented, in theory, a softer target Hayabusa could use to get the team back on their feet, a disappointing draw meant Yuezhou had merely seventeen points from their first twelve matches. At the rate Yuezhou are accumulating points, they would finish with their worst qualifiers performance in over two decades.

It's unclear how much of the blame lies with the Kandorese manager, and how much credit should be given to a surprising set of groupmates who have outperformed expectations, such as Valentine Z or Kamisato Ayaka Nation. But it's clear that considering the quality of players that Hayabusa has at his disposal - the core is largely the same as the one that qualified for World Cup 88 - that sixth place in the group would be an unacceptable finish from the YFA's perspective. And while Hayabusa's 4-3-3 system promised high-paced, attacking football, the Dragons have seen little of the benefits - 23 goals is only the seventh best in the group - they have seen the costs to their defensive structure.

Of course, apologists might point to the extenuating circumstances of a nation scarred by two civil wars and a major Kitaran intervention in a short timespan. The turbulence of the past few years have not only distracted the Dragons, but they've also served to disrupt key flows of young talent through the Yue football system. With the socialist football apparatus torn to the ground and only somewhat rebuilt, and with recent academy graduates' training interrupted and limited by the ravages of war, the talent surge that gave rise to the Yue Golden Generation is well and truly drying up. The likes of Li Jing and Huang Shedong are likely facing their last qualifying cycle, with Wen Xiaohui and Liu Huiying - now indisputably the Dragons' best-ever player - not far behind.

Of course, one of the main reasons that the YFA brought Hayabusa in to replace Kang Guilin almost four years ago was his romantic view of football. Hayabusa believes in team unity and positive football above all else, and the optics of appointing such a manager to lift up a nation was not lost on the bureaucrats. Unfortunately, with a few key exceptions, it's unclear if the talent is there to support this brand of football. While past teams, such as Lu Jialan's famous World Cup 88 squad, have made deeper tournament runs with similar cores, they've done so through pragmatic counterattacking, not romantic possession play. The switch to possession play has generated a few moments of magic, such as the team's early goal against Nephara. A driving run forwards from Li Jing led to some beautiful interplay between Li, Wen Xiaohui, and the ever-present Liu Huiying that led to the latter ducking past the defense and setting up a tap-in for the late run of Jiang Jieren. Of course, the team was immediately torn apart by Nephara to the tune of four unanswered goals, but at least they had a nice moment before then.

But although Hayabusa has had four years to implement his 4-3-3 and distinct style of play on the team, it has proven to be far from a natural fit. Players like Li Jing, Huang Shedong, and Jiang Jieren are at their best running by defenses caught flat-footed, a scenario that Hayabusa's Dragons are slightly too slow to execute on the counterattack. To compensate, Hayabusa has pushed up his midfield and emphasized underlapping runs from the wide forwards. But this new approach has failed to blow away opposing defenses, who can simply set up shop in a low block, and leaves Yuezhou vulnerable to the kind of football that they are best at. Hayabusa has relied on the individual quality of Wan Sheping and Yuan Mingrong to hold down the fort on defense, but his attacking set up has left gaps too big for them to cover alone. To his credit, Hayabusa has refused to compromise his ideals to play a more counterattacking style, firmly believing that the team will adjust to playing his style. But while it's admirable that Hayabusa is willing to risk losing his job to implement his desired playstyle, it does appear that that's what is going to happen.

Of course, in such a wide-open group (even a 5-2-6 record has the Dragons threatening for a playoff spot in this format), it's plausible that Hayabusa leads the team back to the World Cup. Nephara and Mercedini are out of the way already, although Group 3 has shown Yueren that they can't rely on rank to evaluate how difficult a match will be. But if this is the end of the Hayabusa era, then it might be time for the YFA to face the facts of what Yuezhou is and what it can be, and adjust accordingly.

[Saint Eleanor]

World Cup 91 - thirteenth matchday of qualification
No matches scheduled for Saint Eleanor

---

Georgia Wood: "The only drugs I like taking are caffeine and paracetamol"
Chief Football Correspondent Jamie Rodgers presses John Bailey's deputy on boring things - and she insists she's a boring person
Originally published on Friday 10th December 1999

Northern Saint Eleanor now has two major clubs. In the yellow corner, the Golden Unicorn - who play their games at the end of the Dignity Cross shopping centre, the country's most famous, in Brightway - remain the most surprising League winners yet and have found a return to consistency, in the form of stuttering their way to fifth place after what was so very nearly a horrific finish. In the blue corner, Hiyashi Celestia - beneficiaries of the Kandorese megacorporation's new factory a couple of miles north in Broadlands - have three members of Kandorith's national team in their starting lineup and a legendary Cassadagan striker as manager, but threw away the narrowest of title leads with three games to go. Surely you would imagine that Georgia Wood, the Unicorn's starting goalkeeper, would have enmity for their newfound rivals.

"But my dad literally works for them!" That is certainly one way to cool down what should be a heated relationship: Matthew, her father, left a local software company to take up a managerial role at the Hiyashi plant in 1996, "before they even had the Metro running trains there. He likes it there and it's all very thinky, strategic, logistical stuff and so on - really the same things he used to do. A lot of people say they try to approach problems logically, but really, Dad's always been quite the problem solver. Would I say it's passed onto me? Probably!". Her mother, Sophie Wood, has had somewhat more job security as the editor of the local area's newspaper, the Morning Post - whose operations are based out of Brightway. "I've spent practically my entire life there and I don't think I'd ever want to leave. She's always had an eye for detail, too, but tried to add a bit of literary flair to that job. She got me hooked on reading - I like to read allsorts and I've had multiple people say I read more books than the rest of the team combined. That's not quite true: a few of the University graduates are probably trying to keep up with me."

Wood has never exactly been one to talk, but like many others, still fondly recalls her school days at Brightway CS - doing so in the context of their best-ever Charles Trump Shield performance, their run to the semifinals in 1989 which she played an important part in. "There was one particularly unfortunate incident after the Sunset Gates first-round tie - we won that 3-0 and I didn't do much - when I think some guy tried to trick me into having illicit ecstasy tablets, but I told him that the only drugs I like taking are caffeine and paracetamol - they still are! Thankfully I was surrounded by nice, sensible, committed people and we had a lot of them make the Unicorn's full team. Logan Hughes was solid at the back, then as now, and he's a man with many more ideas than he has mistakes; Melcheta Pazorzal was a legend up front, scored in all of our games, and quite frankly bailed our collective arses out against Silverton in the second round and Buckhead in the quarters." Brightway ran up against the Eleanorian Academy in the last four and "it was... disappointing! I felt let down by Hughes and the rest a couple of times but ultimately, I'll happily accept the blame for both goals. At least I knew what I was doing!"

What three games does Wood feel shaped her career the most? First up would be an otherwise little-remembered 0-0 draw at home to Army and Navy in 1993. "Like so many other Eleanorian footballers, I got put into the first team aged nineteen, but there were more than a few question marks surrounding me in my first couple of years. It really all started changing in 1993, I had a couple of good games against the bigger teams before the halfway point, and Army and Navy weren't exactly the titans they were in my schooldays but there was still that... aura of fear surrounding them. Aidan Harris at the time was still a good striker and he threw everything he possibly could at me - long-range dippers, close-range headers, tap-ins that he'd thought would evade me, speculative efforts from ridiculous angles - but I kept all of them out, somehow, and I was pretty much flailing all around in an attempt to prevent the worst from happening. We were on the back foot, mostly, and a few of his teammates chipped in, but he was the main force behind it all and it finished all square. Three days later, Harris got seriously injured in training; thankfully it wasn't my fault or else I would have been sent off like I was against Indy last year - still the only red card I've ever gotten; I can't possibly imagine why, especially since I got the associated one-match suspension pulled on appeal. Three years later, we got called up to the national teams' substitutes bench!"

Her second choice is the 4-2 win over Sword and Shield on the final day of 1996 - a season which saw little confidence at Dignity Cross and led to the sacking of manager Abraham Straw. "And he moved to Collegiate, of all places! Jessica Martin's not very happy with him over there, I wasn't very happy with him over here, he led the team to eighth and then tenth out of ten in his last two seasons, we'd basically given up on any semblance of organised training by August '96, I'm bloody thankful he's been forced out of his last job too, and I don't think he'll be qualified for so much as a job in the eleventh division of Banijan football once we learn what's really happened at the University Grounds." The game put Wood in the Reporter's headlines for all the wrong reasons after a leak later that October, after she reportedly hit teammate Caitlynn Jones on the head with a drinks bottle and went on a tirade about the Unicorn's sloppy performance up to half time. "I do not regret it at all - firstly, it was just a playful tap. And yes, I was a bit fucking shouty, although I've tried to calm down and avoid that kind of shit in future moments of desperation. What I wanted to do was remind the players of the basics of their job, which shouldn't have been that hard to do against one of the worst four or five Sword and Shield teams of all time. I made one save in that game, and it led to Sword and Shield's first goal but we won anyway; the paper's letters to the editor the next day were 60% saying I'd won it with my speech."

Finally, she nominates last year's 1-1 draw against the same opposition. "That was the year I married my husband - Greg Connolly, not Ian Jones, but thank Margaret for Ian anyway. Cup of Harmony-winning assistant manager, one of the greats of the Tinhamptonian game, knows what needs to be doing and how, tried to get our defense in order and it most certainly worked. This was a bit like the Army and Navy game but against much more convincing opposition with much more diverse skills. Unlike Harris's attempts, some of them were even off target. I probably stopped two or three of them from being counted in the first instance; you can ask anyone on their side what it means and whether that means Priscilla Evans was right to trust me. I don't think I had a hope of getting to Maddie Gordon's effort towards the end, but she's a bona fide all-rounder, on the fringes of the national team, or would be if Cilla didn't have such a good scounting operation." Any thoughts on this year? "Oh, my God... I conceded twenty goals in the last five games and I just can't get my head around why the defence switched off so heavily at the end of the season. Melcheta's done a nice job up front and we were never going to make the IFCF, but why? Just why? This is positively dreadful. I might need to have another word with Caitlynn and friends in preseason."

Wood is "sensible" to her admirers and "boring" to her detractors - helped in no part by avoiding regular trouble, having a surprisingly consistent sleep schedule, being one of the most well-read members of the national team, and arguably a general sense of reluctance to leave Brightway when not necessary. "I mean, I balance out Exandra's [Davies] relative zip of sorts, so pretty much - I think I'm well known enough for all of that by now." Like Pazorzal and Olympic holding midfielder Bridget Coombe, Wood stays off the bottle, too; she adds that "most people in the national team are smart enough not to go too overboard with the alcohol but, for various reasons, none of us really do it at all, and sometimes we go to one of the local restaurants to have a few glasses of soda - of course - and something nice to eat and talk about stuff that's happening right now, really. But the fact we can't even agree on who should become the next ruler of Pasarga is probably a good sign we aren't going to throw Evans off her perch like Fred Newton tried to last year!" Where do they like going? "I think we've been to every restaurant in Brightway but Geometrio's - subtle homage to the club logo there - is one of the good pizza places, not the hyper-calorific takeaways, all very cultured with excellent customer service. Of course." And who thinks who's better prepared to succeed King Jacob on the Rushmori throne? "Not telling!"

Wood was relatively quiet during the battle on whether or not to unseat the national team manager last year, although she insists that "I like her and she doesn't really ask too many unnecessary things of us; my concern was that she was getting a bit too reliant on choosing players from the same old clubs and now we've gotten some of them out and replaced them with the best guys available based on their overall performances, I'd say things are definitely looking up. We're looking, feeling and playing better, definitely." Despite being friendly with some of her teammates on both the national and international level, does she have a favourite at all? "Oh, good heavens, no! Of course there are a few people I talk to sometimes, as I said, but I'm not really in too deep with any of them - I feel as though I have to be impartial, being club captain and all that - and if anyone started causing big problems I'd just try my best to cut them out of my life. Thankfully, my colleagues aren't too irritating right now and I can live with them. Would I call myself a boring person? Yes, but most people in the Saint Eleanor League are, and that's actually a good thing."

Seldom loud, occasionally annoying - even curt - and almost always nondescript, Georgia Wood is one of the better goalkeepers in Saint Eleanor; certainly she is good enough for the national team in the unlikely event John Bailey is ever made unavailable. Yet she is, most paradoxically, one of its most interesting characters: a consistent, reliable goalkeeper, naturally, but with a consistent, reliable personal life and a good mental blend of pragmatism and idealism. Average enough to be extraordinary? Yes.

[The Cordian Isles]

This is a short semi-traditional Cordian sea shanty often sung by the moderately drunk patrons of seaside taverns.
OOC: I tried, but I'm not naturally that creative. Hope this is alright.

A ship was sailing in deep water
When a kraken came up and caught her
The oarmen saw and went to arms
But the captain’s heart was not of storms

And he told his men to run
This fight, he said, could not be won
Sweeping strikes, and they went free
To fight again, but with a fee

As one sailor said to me
The captain lost respect that day
But the ship sailed on, the waves still broke
And the captain kept on turning the spokes

A week went by til land was sighted
As the lookout saw and cried out
The captain called his men to the bow
His shield adorned with Odin’s crow

And he told his men to run
Landside were riches to be won
Sweeping strikes, and they went free
To fight again, but with a fee

For as the oarmen crossed the water
Guardsmen gathered at the shore
A hundred men and maybe more
To protect their town and settle a score

The oarmen pulled hard but could not brake
The lives of the crew were all at stake
But the captain suited in mail and plate
His mind was not on his escape

And he told his men to run
His last fight would be this one
Sweeping strikes, and they went free
To fight again, but with a fee

For their captain lost his life that day
Surrounded by the enemy
And as the oarmen rowed away…

[one man with an especially carrying voice stands up]
Each shed a tear for their courageous captain!

[cheers]

[New Eestiball]

New Eestiball... wasn't a great football nation. The stats said that much. And if they were to have any chance at qualifying, they would need a win in Tallinn. Vilita is the second-highest team in the group, leading the standing. New eestiball hopes to get 20 pts from 20 games. Seems like they're on reverse trajectories, so the Doorknobs will need to do great to steal the Jungle Rebels' momentum. Bigger upsets have happened, as seen in the Hidden Realm match against the defending WC90 champions. So, good luck to the doorknobs: they're gonna need it.

[Gortolekua]

previously
The chrome environment was a far cry from the rugged natural world Point Foothill showcased these recruits. They were once one of one hundred, doing their best to get by and make it through a gruesome boot camp. Now, they had no idea what the hell was going on, let alone what in God's name was happening.

Catharina Lundin was the first of the four recruits to wake up. Tiedemessut, her hometown and a major city in the Mustamaa province, felt familiar enough to Catharina that scientists working all around her didn't seem out of place. The science that was being done, however, sent her for a whirl. She could see a rat crawl into one cup and out of another cup that was behind it. Holograms of Rangers appeared all across the laboratory, and they were communicating in real time with those in person. But what really wowed her was seeing Rangers transport into pictures by running into photographs.

And now she's being watched by a stranger she doesn't know as she tries to get a read of what's happening on the island.

One of those who jumped into a photo had her GPS tracker appear on a massive monitor—as large as the wall it was stationed on—with her fellow workers keeping track of her whereabouts. That Ranger's GPS location moved to another part of the island, much to Catharina's shock.

"We're still on the island, which is good," she thought to herself, trying not to sweat another bead in fears that the mysterious man would notice her snooping around. "But did that person just transport into an image and literally change locations just like that?" It was cliché of her to think this, but she would have been remiss to not acknowledge this as something out of the movies. But this technology, happening in the real world—her world, of all of them to exist—shook her to her core.

The man—still there and well aware of Catharina's moving eyes—snapped his fingers over her face. Catharina, still in the pod, was on the bottom of a dogpile spread over four seats in the golf cart. Joined by Margarida Karjalainen, René Lorenzo, and Cash Delgado, Catharina thought her time was up as she was caught staring at things she thought she shouldn't be staring at.

"You know, you're officially part of this team now. You can take a look around you. And also, you know, get up," the man dressed in white said. His fatigues, like the rest of the Rangers present, were eggshell white (flat white didn't suit what was going on with the whole "everything is chrome" situation, Catharina mused). The man, noticing his new subordinate was not taking commands, picked her up by the arm and dragged her out of the cart. The dogpile within the pod collapsed, and the other three woke up one-by-one.

"Please don't make me do that again," the man said, almost reservedly. He was different from Trainer Hooper: he was the recruits' height, more or less, for one. And he didn't seem to fit the role of a drill instructor, a military trainer, or any sort of supervisory role, for that matter. He was timid—rare among a Ranger profession that requires tenacity in the role. "I don't like getting people up like that, but I'll do it if I have to."

"Where...where am I," she asked the man, confused by everything going on surrounding her. "What's with the holograms, and the rats, and the pictures?? Tell me what's going on with the pictures, this is too weird, sir."

"Please don't 'sir' me, it's something that's always made me feel uncomfortable," he replied while motioning Catharina to ease it and not cause a ruckus. "Technically, I'm the same role as Trainer Hooper, but you can just call me Alvarez. This, Recruit Lundin, is your new workplace."

"But what about the whole training aspect of things, and you know...becoming a Ranger?"

"Don't worry, this is where you're going to finish up training. From your graduation as a Ranger onwards, you'll be a Project Member of QZ."

"So what the fuck is going on, Alvarez?" Everyone turned around and looked at Cash Delgado, speaking after being mostly silent as all this transpired in front of him. "There's gotta be some bigger-than-thou spiel you're about to go on."

"I understand your concern, but please do not swear at me, Recruit Delgado," Alvarez replied snappily. One thing that could be quickly picked up by everyone in QZ is to never disrespect Alvarez. Because even though he doesn't want to behave like the stereotype requires him to, he'll do it if he needs to. "You treat me with respect, I treat you with respect. Golden rule out here is the only rule out here because if you don't, I promise you I'll fuck you up bad. You don't want that, do you."

Cash glared at Alvarez, before backing down. Margarida, quiet throughout the events transpiring, smirked at Cash being put in his place, while René shook his head.

"Apologies for that outburst to the rest of you who know what manners look like when practiced correctly," he told the recruits. "Now if I can answer your rudely worded question, RECRUIT Delgado: We're trying to develop ways of transportation that circumvent the time-related issues associated with them."

"So these pictures," René pondered, "are supposed to help us travel quicker and faster? Because we'll develop a way that lets us travel to the photo's location?"

"Correct."

"So I'll do it now," Cash said. He started spring, shoving aside a QZ Ranger to run into an image on the wall, only to hit his head on the wall. Everyone in the lab, Alvarez included, laughed at the massive failure that just happened.

"You need one of these, Recruit Delgado," Alvarez said, motioning to his watch—or at least what appeared to be a watch. "This thing communicates with the material inside each photograph to locate where a specific photo was taken and transport you there. It's also why we've got what we've got," motioning again to the device on his wrist.

"But wouldn't people be able to access that photo if they have it?" René asked in return.

"It's the lab photo on your high school chemistry textbooks. Everyone's going to assume it's just a clipping from that tetxtbook," Alvarez replied calmly. "Plus they need a Kelloturrekos for them to ever get inside of here. That'll never happen."

This all made sense to the Recruits, but it made sense in that this QZ work didn't make sense. Everyone was ready to accept the new developments in their life: Gortolekua was close to perfecting instantaneous travel.

"I do have a question, if you don't mind."

Everybody turned around to Margarida, who, other than an exhale alongside her smirk to Cash's tomfoolery, hadn't said anything until now.

"What's the purpose of this?"

"Recruit Karjalainen, while I would love to answer this question, I can't until you've completed your training as a Ranger," Alvarez said. "And even then, you have to work your way up to even have a chance of figuring out. I possibly don't know."

Something about this didn't seem right.

"We have to get moving, recruits," Alvarez followed-up. "It's time to put QZ to the test."

He whisked the four to a secluded room within the Project QZ headquarters to begin integrating them into their new world.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

As Charles d'Aaci entered into the lobby of the deliberately unassuming building on Rue du Reflet, a much more pleasant Roland de Blanchefort was there to greet him.

"Sous-Lieutenant," Roland said in greeting, giving Charles a hardy handshake.

"Thank you," Charles responded, starting to walk with Roland to the elevators. "I assume a posting with the Ministry of Intelligence is your work."

"Indeed it is. The Pelendava Gendarmerie very graciously offered you and your expertise to the Ministry of Intelligence. Here's your ID badge, by the way," Roland offered Charles the ID card on a lanyard, which Charles put around his neck. The elevator went up and deposited them on the 8th floor. The two walked through silent office hallways, making one turn and then another, until they ended at just another door. Roland took his ID card and held it to a card reader, which buzzed audibly and lit up green.

"You're now a member of Task Force 15M. Welcome aboard."

Roland opened the door and ushered Charles in. Charles entered into a cramped conference room, the table covered with papers, binders, and laptops. The walls of the room had pages and pictures and sticky notes strewn across, while a long whiteboard had the evidence of being utilized and erased over and over. Around the table sat two men and a woman.

"Ah, you're Charles, right?" The man closest to the door stood up and stretched his hand out. "Gwenal Abrassart, Ministry of Intelligence," the man said as Charles shook his hand. "Welcome to 15M."

"Thank you. Why is it called Task Force 15M?" Charles had to ask.

The second man at the far end of the table looked up from a paper he was reading. "If you call something a Task Force you can include people from other agencies and no one asks many questions." The man gave Charles a nod of recognition. "Anthelme de Rulhière, Ministry of Justice. Pleasure."

Charles returned Anthelme's nod, before turning to the young woman to his right. "Mademoiselle...?"

"I'm Eloise de Saint-Seine, thank you for joining us. I'm with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"Intelligence, Justice, Foreign Affairs. Merely a gendarmerie is pretty lowly in comparison." Charles half-joked. Roland, who had locked the door behind them walked around Charles and took a seat. "I wouldn't worry about it Charles," he said. "At the end of this we're all getting a commendation or getting charged with treason, no matter how fancy our job was."

"Get a cup of coffee and take a seat Charles," suggested Gwenal, who sloughed off his jacket and draped it on the back of his chair. "We'll get you up to speed."

After pouring a cup of coffee and clearing a spot on the table, Charles sat down, finding a blank notepad and pen. "We brought you on board, Charles, because of your work on the Bénigne Cixous case." said Roland. "Cixous' disappearance isn't inouï. His disappearance is one of 47 identical disappearances across the Dominion."

"47, at least," added Anthelme, who picked up a binder and gestured with it. “The particulars of these cases makes it hard to find an exact number.” Charles recognized that Anthelme was going to lob it to him, and put his hands out just in time. Pulling it in, he opened it to see a messy collection of print-outs and copied handwritten notes.

"What makes them identical? How can you determine that?" Charles asked as he started reading.

"The major one is the thing you noticed at the station," Eloise stated. "The coding. You can turn to the yellow tab, you'll see what I mean," she suggested. Charles flipped forward to find a screenshot printed out. "Oberour Ar Moro uses a communication and management intranet application from Sqwire that tracks interactions with the citizens and residents of the Dominion. Health care, arrest records, communications, whatever. You have a file there, I have a file there. And Bénigne Cixous had a file in there, but he no longer does."

The page in the binder Charles looked identical to the Cixous file he had pulled up on the computer. But it was for a different person, a Brendana du Perroy.

Roland spoke up. "The 47 disappearances that we know about have this exact same thing. In the Sqwire system their file is replaced with a single page and a series of numbers and letters. Everything else is wiped out. Birth certificate, diplomas, notes from their dentists, whatever was in there. Gone."

Charles popped the lid off his pen and started writing on his notepad. "What are the numbers and letters?"

Gwenal spoke up. "We discovered the answer to that four months ago. That's an internal Sqwire code. It means, essentially, that a new file had been created under the same name, and then that file overwrote the previous file, merged the data and then deleted everything it could delete. All automatically."

"Automatically?" Charles asked.

"Indeed," Gwenal answered. "As far as can be told this is an automated process. And these edited records only exist for these particular missing persons."

"And this goes with the second reason these are identical disappearances," Eloise noted. "Oberour Ar Moro really doesn't want people looking into these particular missing persons."

"You got lucky I intervened," Roland said, shaking his head. "A gendarmerie in Taviria got popped for 'improper access to records' trying to investigate the disappearance of Gefroy Clémencet and was suspended without pay. A man trying to locate his son Marcel d'Ust was arrested for harassment of Oberour Ar Moro officials. And those are just one's we know about."

Charles leaned back in his chair and looked around the messy room. "So the reason there's five people in a conspiracy theorist's room is..."

"...is because there is some kind of conspiracy to disappear people, attempt to wipe them from existence, and stop people from asking questions. Like I said,'' Roland said, "commendation or a treason charge."

Charles scratched his head and looked around the table. "So. Where do we start?"

[Vilita]

♫ On the road again, Goin' places that I've never been before, Seein' things that I can't explain, And I can't wait // screech // scratch // Rebel Time... Back again... ♫

EVIL Imitation Turnip Butt Flags with Seven Points?

Alright so its no secret that we're building up to this big matchup against the Holy Empire. But how disappointing is it that its NOT going to be a UWC title match? Of course, thats the Jungle Rebels own fault dropping two silly points to Aut-Ves-Nat when they were all partied up to be the first team ever to compete for the UWC title 100 times. The Jungle Rebels are sitting in a pretty good position to be able to compete for the UWC Title at some point later in the campaign but its not going to be in the game against The Holy Empire.

Of course, there is going to be a lot of discussion about that game later on, but right now lets go back to that twii that Sokiti Amakra put out the other day:

Sokiti Amakra ✓

@FunWithFlags

So is it an honor or a diss when @TheTurnip does a satire piece that is basically a reincarnation of your own totally not satire pieces? You know what they say, any publicity is good publicity! #FunWithFlags

Of course, the piece that Sokiti is talking about here is from The Turnip, everyones favorite Electrumite bite of fun in a world full of political polls, wartime threats and scoreline reproductions. Its actually quite an appropriate piece and there is of course plenty of experience from Sokiti doing very similar pieces on her own podshow Fun with Flags.

Now one that sticks out of course is The Turnip's Analysis and recommendations on how to change the flag of Eura, as that is a flag that Sokiti also took a run at on her own show in the past - specifically during a series throughout World Cup 72 where she had a look at all the flags of each of the World Cup 72 Finalists and provided similar commentary on their strengths, weaknesses and offered some reccomended changes. Now, if you go back and look at her initial commentary on the flag of Eura, you will notice something that clearly was equally picked up upon by The Turnip:

EURA

Best Feature: Arc of Stars above the land mass

Worst Feature: Silhouette of the Land Mass

Most Notable Feature: Blue and golden yellow contrast

One Change To Make: I'd simplify a little bit by removing the complicated land mass and inserting a more geometric shape representative of the Euran culture

Could Also Pass As the Flag of... Electrum

Amakra's Final Word: This flag is bold and easily attributable to Eura. But, I'm not sure what the 6 stars are there to represent, and I've never been a big fan of plopping a land mass onto a flag either, no matter who's landmass it is.

Sokiti's Analysis of the Euran Flag raised two key points. 1) The worst feature was the Silouette of the Euran Landmass. 2) The flag which it was most similar to was the Flag of Electrum. Now, fast forward to World Cup 91 and in comes the Turnip to basically make the exact same determination by 1) Removing the Euran Landmass from the flag and 2) Replacing it with the Butt of Electrum.

What do you think folks? Plagiarism? A nice tip of the cap to one of the most reputable Flag-F*#k-withers of all time? Or just so glaring obvious that the two nations should just cut to the chase and merge into a single glorious butt-flagged entity right this moment?

Now, aside from the Euran flag lets point somethign else out about inputs provided by the Electrum Vexillological Impertinence League. Their analysis about the flag of Drawkland was absolutely spot on-ish. So much so that lets be real, I'm pretty sure there is some twii.tur backed grassroots signature petition to have the Turnip's 7 Stripe, 7 Point, Septogonal Flag to be adopted permanently as the new Flag of Drawkland. The fact that its taken 7 years, 7 months and 7 days for this error to finally be corrected is just sevenful.

Now, can't sign off without addressing the Eel-aphant in the room. The Electrum Vexillological Impertinence League's Analysis of the flag of our colonial neighbors, the Island Emirate of Turori. Unlike the flag of Eura, where EVIL's analysis was basically spot on with Amakra's analysis on Fun With Flags, they did a complete 180 when it came to the flag of Turori and took the exact opposite approach. Amakra's analysis focused on the positives on the color brown - how it was relatively unique among major flags and really made the reader connect the flag to the nation in a quick and easy way. She did admit it was a tad plain with such a large field of brown, but ultimately felt the uniqueness of the overall palette overcame its plainess.

The Turnip did not agree. In fact, The Turnip - though equally mild-mannered on the degree of which they were pro or against the color brown, jumped straight to the extreme and literally just cut the brown out of the flag. Well, Most of the brown. The result is a Gadria like non-rectangular flag that consists only of a rotated version of the bottom right pointy object. While I think ultimately Sokiti Amakra and Fun With flags would NOT agree that this is the best way to go with the Flag of the Island Emirate of Turori, there is at least one thing that EVIL and Fun With Flags agreed with: "The much larger pointy object at the bottom right of the flag" is the "Most Notable Feature" of the flag. Of course, in case of the Turnip, it is the most notable feature by default since its the only feature they left on the flag at all.

So anyway, I asked Sokiti if she could help the Electrum Vexillological Impertinence League with their brown cleaning abilities because they seemed not be able to get all the brown off on their first attempt. Of course, she would help them. Though I'm not sure they really wanted the help.

Until next time, when we'll finally talk about the big battle between the Rebels and the Empire!

♫ Rebel Time... Back again... It's Rebel Time... Tell a Friend... ♫

[Sendhang]

PRESS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SENDHANG

AMAN LEADERS' MEETING
ON THE 18TH MATCHDAY OF THE 91ST WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

At the invitation of the Right Honourable Tun Rendra Usin, Bendahara of the Kingdom of Eraman, the Right Honourable President Paulus Etanga, President of the Federation of Sendhang will attend the AMAN Leaders' Meeting on the 18th Matchday of the 91st World Cup Qualifiers at Daulapura International Convention Center, Daulapura, Eraman.

The Right Honourable President will be accompanied by The Honourable Budi Hartono, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a small group of senior officials from the President's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The AMAN Leaders' Meeting will be attended by AMAN Leaders to discuss several pressing issues concerning peace, security and stability of the region. The unfolding development in Cakranegara is also expected to be high on the meeting's agenda.

Sendhang strongly supports all the efforts undertaken by Eraman to convene AMAN Leader's Meeting in determining the direction and future of AMAN, in line with its principle of promoting and protecting peace, security, stability and prosperity of our region.


KAMBANG
MATCHDAY 13 OF THE 91ST WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

[Saint Eleanor]

World Cup 91 - fourteenth matchday of qualification
Sannyamathland 0
Saint Eleanor 2 (Adam Denby goal 17', David Newcastle goal 44')

---

Hugh Roanoke: "I think you're reading more into this than I ever did!"
Chief Football Correspondent Jamie Rodgers talks to the man some almost want to call "Mister Saint Eleanor" about his eminently intertwinable fate
Originally published on Monday 13th December 1999

First things first: Hugh Roanoke was born to Colonel Joe - still in active service today - and Professor Diana on 23rd June 1975, Eleanorian Independence Day. "I think you're reading more into this than I ever did!" Typical Hugh Roanoke: a man so oriented to public service that, much like Liam West as captain and General Mitcham as President, he sometimes forgets all about himself. "Of course I take time out for myself, but my family is what's important. They taught me the values of hard work, listening to and helping others, thinking through issues properly, doing whatever is right and, for good reason, freedom."

Freedom - Joe, then a mere foot-soldier, fought for it during the War of Independence in the months leading up to Roanoke's birth. "He survived, that's the important thing. He wasn't really involved in any of the big battles, didn't want to be remembered as a war hero, didn't like the publicity: just wanted to be remembered as Joe, that one guy from Collegiate that helped sow the seeds of a great nation and do nothing more." Diana, a lecturer and professor of mathematics at the University of Saint Eleanor, also had an influence. "She didn't teach me any of my maths modules, don't worry; she was more of a mechanics person. That wasn't really my thing but I think she'd have met Bridget [Coombe] a couple of times. Anyway, she was the one who put logic and wonder into me. The logic is because, if you're looking at a problem and trying to solve it - and I've always wanted to solve them - you need to think about each step as it comes. The wonder is because every idea - not just problems, but real ideas - has related ideas, and it's always worthwhile exploring those, making connections and thinking about whatever you've accidentally missed or skipped so you can do better, now and later. To wit, Dad made me a hard worker, Mum made me a good worker. That's that and thank fuck."

Roanoke has strong roots in the Collegiate district and attended the local school, University College. "The hard sciences were always my jam because, well, you know, I liked getting answers. That's where I got mine. I made about ten normal friends and I remember all of their names but I only really see some of them these days, which is a shame because they mostly had the same basic interests as me: maths, football, beer - if you can get to the counter at an NLF Club, you can order pint, I honest to God swear that's how it works - and proper, proper, proper music. A lot of my teammates have said they met their girlfriends at school. I did, too: Hannah McGarry. She bloody hated PE - she was more of the fancy essay-writing sorts and she ended up reading philosophy at the Uni - but she really gelled with me on a spiritual and an emotional level, really, we got loved up, been engaged, going to marry this March and I hope we'll have a couple of kids that we'll send to Uni Coll. We are literally level, too - we're both five foot five."

I mentioned while interviewing Jessica Martin that University College had only made two Charles Trump Shield finals in the past decade, and 1992 - the year Roanoke played his part in the competition - was one of them. "University College 1, the Boys' Preparatory 4, after extra time. Fuck's sake. Our team had me on it, of course. That team had Eric Stone and Bill Garton on it; they're both in the league now but everybody else has been forgotten. Almost everybody else. We were 1-0 up with twenty minutes to go because of one of my free kicks, and then Eric scored one of his own, it was a belter - more so than mine. Then he and some chap called Jake Carling combined to score three in extra time. Please don't put me through the wringer again. I'm not even going to tell you about the hattrick I scored in the last sixteen against Mount Dennis or that brilliant cross I pumped to set up the winner right at the end of the semifinal against Whitehammer if you carry on like this. Come on."

What three games does he believe most shaped his development as a professional footballer? "I've only played a few dozen matches and you expect me to identify three of them? I never won the Golden Backpack but John Parkinson did the year before I did the Charles Trump Shield, everybody thought he was top-notch as a player - people thought I was good, too, but nobody had my number, so to speak - and it definitely felt like it for all of those years I got stuck in the subs bench behind him and didn't even get a look in for the national team. Abraham Straw, the manager, had a bit too much trust in him after he took over the managerial job and he looked the part for their first... two games together, I think. After that, it just collapsed; he was awful, awful, awful. Didn't know how to attack, didn't know how to defend, didn't know how to do anything, really. Yet he still didn't listen; the only thing that changed Straw's mind was that one horrific penalty he gave away to Turori. 1998 was my breakthrough and it wasn't expected; although I didn't win the title - damn you, Bridget! - I'm glad to have found my way into The Reporter's best starting eleven of the season; it meant a lot ot me and everybody I knew. And John's at the Creston Wolves of Cordia there. I'd wish him the best of luck but, you know, Evansgate."

Okay - so what single game does he value the most? "6-5. You know what I'm talking about" - Sword and Shield's 1998 home win over Athletic Saint Eleanor, of course. "Every fucker and his dog knows we were 5-2 down at the hour mark, then Michael Kent gets himself booked for fouling Jessica Martin - not a Paul Ferry red card, as you said, terrible mistake on your part - and she scored the penno, 5-3. We needed teamwork, a dedication to get forwards and a never-say-die attitude in spades if we wanted to be serious challengers, both in the game and for the title, and we had that in spades. Brilliant physical and mental exercise; the equaliser was another good solo effort from Jess but I got a hand in the other two goals: I sent a low cross into Stanley Longley with twenty minutes to go before pumping a through ball to super-sub Ivan Brown as time was running out. It wasn't a good one; Stu[art] Norton would have gotten to it had Browny not stuck his leg out so desperately. All in all, we were in trouble and I had a bad first half, then Jess got her penalty, we became happier and more united, I couldn't stop working, I was doing everything I could against better opposition, showcasing my skills and pushing myself to the limit, and thank God, we won out in the end. I've been a regular starter in 1999, too, but nothing earth-changing on that front; I've just been carrying on, developing my skills incrementally, trying my best every single day and hoping it'll all pay off."

To what extent does Roanoke appreciate his newly found national teammates? "I'm glad you didn't ask me whether I did. I certainly do, and I really like them! I've talked about Bridget a lot so far and I'd say she's direct when she feels like it, kind when she feels like it, but always - always - tells the truth. You could say that she has a "typically Eleanorian" dry sense of humour, as Liam West said. Good player, too; neither of us are starters but thankfully neither of us are salty about it. Just don't tell Piers Adcock off of Hapilopper what we think about our position. Cathy Winchester's really underrated, as well; she isn't the best leftback but she's a good problem solver and possibly an even better diplomat: friends with everyone, even-handed, a bit talkative!" It should go without saying that his favourite teammate at Sword and Shield is Martin - "a nice, sensible and socially conscientious young lady; honestly, I can say nothing that everybody else has said" - but after her, his best friend at the University Grounds is undoubtedly Evan Kilkenny. "The lad's young, he was in the year below me at Uni College, and he hasn't really hit his stride yet but he has all the makings of a good all-rounder in his position. He's one of the few good eggs, too; he stood behind the team when it needed support and he's really willing to help out with the rebuild now that we've turfed Abe Straw out."

Hugh Roanoke is understated, even by himself. There is no need to do so: in the two seasons since he became a regular starter at Sword and Shield, he has distinguished himself as a suitable versatile winger with a good attacking capacity and a stellar approach to the game - as well as his game. Were it not for John Parkinson (a disgraced footballer whose playing style rapidly deteriorated in 1997) and David Newcastle (arguably the only wide midfielder in Saint Eleanor more consistent than Roanoke is), he would almost certainly have been starting more games in more capacities at a younger age. Yet he is happy, and has every reason to be happy, with his current career trajectory. Football needs more people like Roanoke.

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

Avalon

PART 6 - Атаман

Without a word the billionaire-figure snapped the lash into the thin air, and they left the beach. The helicopter flew into the cloudy skies, the spirits producing howling sounds that vaguely resembled that of the flying instrument, as they flew their course from the Taxhavnian shores into inland Delte. They were careful enough not to go too fast, else they be seen beyond their magical disguise, so Christine kept herself calm.

As they had reached the mid-day point, just halfway between the beach and Oswark, the spirits decided to ask the regent. They gathered around her, and one of them, now in the shape of Henri VIII her grandfather, asked:

'What brings you here, dear child? The art of breaking your body and soul into two pieces is one thing, but bringing them back together is a task no different on own. So why would you dare doing this, all because of a woman who figures so minor in greater prophecies back home?'

Christine figured that to be an enquiring spirit, for the form had come in the form of his grandfather but in three different eras: a man in the head of his twenties, the clothes of his thirties, and the torso that took the effect of pufferfish poison he had accidentally consumed while cooking it as his catch on a holiday trip. So then she said: 'The so-called greater prophecy only said the line "he shall be bound together to the woman who comes from the Muse of Taewha Era or the Lost Timekeeper from the Era of Queen who reigns fifty-one years of her regency."'

'It does not specify whether it means the child of both or either,' the first spirit said. 'What made you think, and perhaps realise, that it would not involve two families but only one?'

'This was something beyond the prophecies given by those back home, and left up to the decision and the willpower of two mortals, that being the Muse and the Lost Timekeeper,' answered Christine. 'The Lost Timekeeper wasn't granted his wish of timely death away from home, for he made his mistake to leave the said Muse of Taewha without a word the first time.'

Then the first spirit dissipated, replaced by the second spirit came to her in the form of her father, the late Jacques IX the Warrior-King. They asked: 'This is interesting. So you are implying that the heartbroken Muse of Taewha, who had waited all along for an ingrateful man to come back, was responsible for you flying here? That is extremely petty for all the reasons standing.'

'That is correct,' Christine nodded, being reminded of her immediate discontentment when finding out about it all. 'I had advised him against such paths for years before, especially on the scenario that neither would work out. But the said Muse of Taewha was ready to welcome him back to her life even after what had happened to him during those declining years, and had stayed with him throughout. That's what I had not expected.'

'Your father's sacrifice, with the first decade of his reign fighting in the battlefields of Felix and Free Republics, were not made for nothing, after all.' responded the spirit, who had responded in third-person form after recognising that Christine the Second knew the disguise was working. 'His heroics, even if they had involved the Equestrians or the false god worshippers of Gregoryisgodistan, were legendary - me and some of my colleagues have seen it all, from some distance away.'

'I would not compare their sacrifices, for that's unfair on my late father or the Muse,' Christine said in disagreement, before continuing. 'But if this were up to me, I would not have come here. If one of two me's dies, so does the other and all becomes nothing. It's not something that even my authority as the High Spiritual of the Land, where I combine four religious pillars of the state, would be able to prevent.'

'Understandable,' appeared the third figure, who became present in the form of Catherine V, her future granddaughter who unfortunately looked a mix of her grandfathers. 'So you have made this voyage to Sam-Gak-Ju, to save the woman on the what if's of a medicinal root, because you believe this is the very least you can do to ensure that the bigger picture is painted to the completion? As your so-called prophecy has told you so?'

'That is correct,' answered Christine. That must be the perfective form if this works, she thought as she looked at the figure that portrayed herself as a woman much taller than her. With how closely they resembled a mix of her husband and her friend, there was no doubt that the spirits were reading her mind as they were on the helicopter. 'The Lost Timekeeper knows he has finite amount of time, the Muse of Taewha does not, and I have neither heart nor resolution to leave the poor children of theirs without their mother.'

'All understood,' was all that the third figure said, as the first two forms too emerged right next to him. They nodded thrice, and then finished the session and flew back into their shores.

The next moment Christine found herself in balcony of the lone penthouse in Prince Tyrbert Hotel, where she was able to see the view of entire town of Oswark. Realising that she's about halfway into the voyage, Christine went inside to the suite and thought for half-an-hour with her eyes closed before looking around the suite. The four-room suite was decorated in the revivalist manner to give minimal semblance to the fourteenth century, when the Dukes of Oswark, Aroth and his nephew Athad, built the famed castle that nowadays lied in ruins.

Even then, however, there were some additions to the suite that were not supposed to be there, as a mysteriously-retrograde 80s television was placed right in front of a comfortable, vanilla-coloured sofa, while a coffee table, which was carved only out of emerald and platinum, stood exactly midway between the television and the sofa. On top of the table was a rare piece of jewelry. Formed from eight, rolled electrum wires that bore floral and point-work designs with ring-shaped terminals, it immediately caught the Queen's attention as she reached for it, only to stop when she read a small, paper card right under it:

'Three women.
One elderly. Two ageless. Three mortal.
A Moogoonghwa Menorah. A Canterbury Cross. A Finder's Fan.
Rushmore. Anaia. North Pacific.
To Die. To Live. To Decide.
You May Head to March Hoard.'

[Eura]

WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFYING – GROUP 8 MATCHDAY 10
Eura 0–0 Srednjaci
Scorers:
n/a, Robson s/o 87
Lineup:
1. E Palmer
2. A Mason (sub Malone 72)
4. J Menard
15. K Sherwood
5. T Green
3. L Almwood (sub Woodman 65)
24. J Gates
16. O Vincent
7. M Woakes (sub Marshall 72)
14. S Singh
9. S Robson (s/o 87)

WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFYING – GROUP 8 MATCHDAY 11
Eura 0–0 Mertagne
Scorers:
n/a
Lineup:
13. T Hammond
21. T Coffey
4. J Menard
19. A Coles
5. T Green
23. E Reeve
6. S Erskine (sub Stewart 74)
8. V Robshaw
7. M Woakes (sub Bowman 80)
10. C Atkinson (sub Sharp 58)
26. T Vivier

WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFYING – GROUP 8 MATCHDAY 12
Gyatso-kai 1–0 Eura
Scorers:
n/a
Lineup:
1. E Palmer
2. A Mason
15. K Sherwood (sub Byrd 34)
19. A Coles
25. Q Phillips
3. L Almwood
24. J Gates (sub Woakes 66)
8. V Robshaw
18. D Bowman
10. C Atkinson
26. T Vivier (sub Singh 85)

WORLD CUP 91 QUALIFYING – GROUP 8 MATCHDAY 13
Eura 3–0 Polkopia
Scorers:
Robson 3, Woakes 42, Malone 48
Lineup:
1. E Palmer
4. J Menard (sub Phillips 73)
19. A Coles
5. T Green
6. S Erskine
8. V Robshaw
11. B Malone
7. M Woakes (sub Marshall 64)
12. A Woodman
10. C Atkinson (sub Sharp 70)
9. S Robson

---

‘Three games without scoring! THREE! I don’t care if we’re mostly getting clean sheets. This is not how we play. Its un-Euran, that’s what it is.’
‘Prime Minister, as much as I sympathise with your frustration’ said the PM’s advisor, not at all sympathising with his frustration, ‘there are bigger issues to be dealing with.’
‘Right, like how to reform our healthcare service after the mess the Liberals left it in.’ Harry Barnham wasn’t just in a mood about the football (though even Eura’s 3-0 romp against Polkopia the night before had failed to fix that).
His government’s agenda was being held up by a flurry of obstacles in office the Social Party leadership had underestimated in opposition; a healthcare system with serious structural problems, a welfare state precariously reliant on IT infrastructure that was about to collapse, a CRC expansion and reform programme that had barely got off the ground before getting bogged down in debates with the expert community. The military reforms were progressing but the long timelines of such a project were of limited political use with elections every five years.

To compound it all, Barnham had wasted his so-called honeymoon period dealing with the promised Sameban political reforms – the one major commitment he had delivered – only for the ever so grateful Sameban public to start voting in green-and-purple nationalists who hated Bastion with a passion.
He needed good news. His subordinate did not have it – for the most part. ‘Just read this sir and get back up to date. You’ll feel better with a full head.’
‘Will I though?’ The advisor shrugged. He dropped a file on the desk, the Daily Strategic Outlook – a summary of all the issues affecting Euran national strategy (primarily foreign policy, economic and defence issues) on any given day. And, to borrow a phrase, this one was a doozy. The summary page alone was the stuff of nightmares.

Subject - FORMER SAMEBA/SEPARATISM
Holding the lead: Ministry (Min.) Home Affairs, Min. Constitutional Affairs, Min. Defence, Army, OSI.
Status: Political fallout of by-elections continues to rumble on. Polling suggests heavy swing to nationalists in hypothetical election. Governments past and present coming under heavy criticism for reconstruction slowdown and switch to private sector focus. Militant wing have gone quiet again, but we are on standby as ever. Another by-election in Brega next week, highly likely a communist candidate will be elected.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): Continue OPERATION INDIGO under joint auspices of military and intelligence services to monitor militant activity and intervene. This is largely a political matter for yourself and your party, but Constitutional Affairs continue to plan for new reforms to allow nationalist representation being stress tested against separatist challenges in courts.

Subject – NYOWANI KITARA
Holding the lead: Min. Foreign Affairs, Defence, Chiefs of Staff, OSI.
Status: Election continues to proceed peacefully with no major outbreaks of violence (domestically, anyway). “Home run” for Euran-Nepharan narrative. UPF now lead polls marginally but high degree of uncertainty remains. Nangang attack threatens to unsettle the currently stable situation (see PAVOLA SUBREGIONAL TENSIONS). Meanwhile, Namboole base is largely complete; Air Force strategic bombers and refuelling aircraft broke in the new runway with training operations throughout the last few days, and an aircraft carrier is due to use the port facility in next 72 hours.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): Min. Foreign Affairs have plans in place for a KPWC defeat which should mitigate any blowback and ensure continued Euran presence, but KPWC victory still preferable in short term, so Ian Smith Fund is being leaned on to free up more money and do so very publicly. Namboole completion will be marked with a low-key joint ceremony with Kitaran authorities, but we should expect a carrier turning up in next few days will attract media attention. Defence are ready for this.

Subject – PAVOLA SUBREGIONAL TENSIONS – YUEZHOU, GRAINTFJALL, BOLLONICH
Holding the lead: Min. Foreign Affairs, Min. CRC/Rushmore, OSI.
Status: Seemingly stable situation in Nyowani Kitara has been endangered by a seemingly random terrorist attack in Nangang, UR Yuezhou. Risk of ceasefire unravelling if calmer heads don’t prevail – OSI still recommends you speak to President Akongo imminently to ensure she stays sensible, although all parties seem to be holding to commitments so far, meaning we may have passed the most dangerous moment. Graintfjall remains an issue – Hattmark still on manoeuvres. Likely thwarted in NYK regardless of election result (referendum certainly), but recent crisis with Bollonich shows Graintfjall continues to test boundaries.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): We have obviously expressed our profound sympathies over Nangang bombing, yourself personally on television yesterday, and support for UR Yuezhou in identifying future threats and culprits. Min. Foreign Affairs are planning on a wider rapprochement with UR Yuezhou regime in private ahead of public recognition in coming weeks. You need to decide how to handle Nafuna. On Graintfjall, you asked OSI to provide an assessment on Hattmark’s likely motives as also requested by previous government; this is still in the works.

Subject – PROJECT EVERGLADE
Holding the lead: Min. Foreign Affairs, embassy to Nephara, Min. Defence, Min. Business and Industry, Chiefs of Staff.
Status: As you know, one of the first decisions made as part of your governments defence review was the procurement of a new long range surface-to-air missile (with potential dual ABM capability) to plug a significant capability gap. Fortunately, our formidable military industrial complex had seen this coming and had something in the works; “Project Everglade” recently conducted an early test of the so called SAM-100 on Nepharan territory.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): Early results are successful but Defence continue to push for faster progress and a competitive price. Mansley Systems and Ebonhawke (the Nepharan contractor) both due to face parliamentary committee soon, Business and Industry leading on prep.

Subject – CASSADAIGUA SUCCESSION CRISIS
Holding the lead: Min. Foreign Affairs, embassy to Cassadaigua, Min. CRC/Rushmore, OSI, Chiefs of Staff, Defence.
Status: This is a new one. Rather out of nowhere a succession crisis seems to be brewing in Cassadaigua, despite the protestations of the current regime that all is normal. “Team Cassie” and “Team Brianna”, as foreign ministry officials have started wittily describing them, are playing a very dangerous game and the OSI admits it has been caught unawares. Domestic media has started reporting unusual military activity.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): This seems like an issue to allow to play out a little further, until its clear whether it’s a false alarm or a serious crisis. In the meantime, OSI and Foreign Affairs are accelerating the formation of a specialist unit to deal with any potential crisis in the country. OPERATION ORANGE COUNTY continues – the long running Euran covert effort to support advocates of representative democracy in the country as opposed to the current system, which per your instructions will remain very low key and minimal in commitment.

Subject – PASARGA SUCCESSION
Holding the lead: Yourself, Min. Foreign Affairs, embassy to Pasarga.
Status: Where one monarch is potentially being replaced by subterfuge and a firm nudge in the back, another has kicked the bucket. King Jakob is dead (long live Jakob) as this was being written, meaning we have little information at this time. There will almost certainly be a succession debate given there are potentially multiple options available.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): As the Head of State you will need to make overtures immediately and express sympathy. Foreign Affairs have already gone to the trouble of briefing the Shorley family given their connection to the Pasargan royal house. Reaction and planning can continue from there.

Subject – INSULT TO THE EURAN NATIONAL CHARACTER
Holding the lead: Min. Media, embassy to Electrum.
Status: “The Turnip”, a gutter rag from our southern neighbours, has defaced the Euran flag in a prominent article with millions of views online. A few backbenchers are very, very angry.
Approach (barring intervention from you or Cabinet): The dignified thing to do would be to ignore it, but naturally Media will want to crush it clumsily online; your advisory team have agreed they should be warned off such an approach. But if you want to ready the nukes in response, that’s up to you…!

The Prime Minister couldn’t even finish it. There was so much more.
Tumbra and the Northlands. South Newlandia sweating.
A royal marriage in Banija, strengthening its ties with Quebec.
And what about Brenecia? That had its own massive section, which Barnham was determined to ignore for as long as possible, lest he awaken the beast that was the Harther Corporation’s political fundraising machine.
His advisor could see the stress behind his eyes, and how the ever increasing pile of crises was threatening to hold back yet another Euran leader.
Something had to be done. They went away and made a very important call.

[Zwangzug]

This is the cutoff for groups 8-15, matchdays fifteen and sixteen. Huzzah!

Scores (no fancy formatting because I broke Vilita's marvelous spreadsheet)

[Huayramarca]

Public Servant

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

---

Part 7 – Let the Hamster Work

A random condo in Miraflores, Huayramarca D.M. September 16^th, 1985

It was 11:00 o’clock in the night, there was a lot of movement in the 25th floor of a random condominium in Miraflores, perhaps one of the poshest, most exclusive neighbourhoods of the Huayramarcan Metropolitan District. A lot of well-dressed people were wandering around as they were having a break, their meeting has taken quite a lot of time since its beginning and they haven’t finished yet what they were planning to do, agreements pending and also the signatures that will validate that, at last, they have a proposal to show for the next meeting.

MPs and the entire cabinet of governing Ñucanchi Ñan party were gathered in order to build a proposal that would fit with the plans of Marta Mamani for Huayramarca in the next couple of years, they all wanted to feed the main draft in order to bolster investment towards the Huayramarcan Sierra, the region that has been traditionally left over, forgotten, in the general scheme of things in Huayramarca. The whole movement of this started after that visit to Llacuabamba two weeks ago, since then, MPs were trying to design something that would help people to earn their income by themselves and not by receiving widespread support from the government, nothing bad with it, but Marta wanted to make sure that “fishers would fish through their own effort” as Túpac Amaru told her in a vision.

“Let’s resume work, there’s a couple of things that the president might want to check before giving an approval to this draft.” Said Gabriel Orozco, the Assembly Leader of Ñucanchi Ñan; the rest of the MPs showed her a couple of slideshows with how the plan would stand in the draft, some proposals included: “Elimination of red tape for foreign investment, granting benefits for the enterprises moving to the Sierra, raising minimum wage for 10% if the economic output allowed so in one year, using surplus to create universities in the Sierra and more.” Marta was nodding and then said “there’s chance for something more, but we need a trigger in order to let that proposal to happen.”

Marta meditated a bit, as she remembered something that Québec & Shingoryeo, a nation that’s some sort of role model for Huayaramarca through its history, could be replicated and be helpful for the future “What about an Equalisation Fund?” Some politicians were surprised as they didn’t know about it, adducing ignorance in that regard or sheer lack of knowledge about a key aspect in a neighbouring nation. Karla Medina, a MP broke the ice and said “The Québécois compensation scheme?” Marta then said “Yes, that one.” Gabriel Medina then asked “Could you please explain that in depth? so all of us can understand the concept and make sure we can justify it in the debates.” Marta asked for some minutes in order to prepare a slide and then explain about the plan.

Carefully crafting, Marta took some time to make sure that her ideas would be clearly represented and avoiding any potential misunderstanding, she made sure to include simple examples about the whole work of this tool which, according to her, would be a vital part to eradicate most of the current poverty that exists in Huayramarca. After fifteen minutes, she was able to present it to the present MPs, then she started “See, this process works as a fund where the Huayramarcan Government allocates revenue from extra activities or earnings from investments done through the Fiscal Year. Then, the Government will divert funds to provinces with the lowest economic output of the year, this in a way to bolster the productive capabilities of local industries or strengthening social programs in the regions in order to develop skills on people.”

Marta then awaited some answers, instead, she received applauses from the MPs and the specialised economists present there, although there would be some questions from one of them “You mentioned a trigger, there’s any indicator that would act as one?” Marta said “Yes, we would have to collect, at least, a billion intis n revenue, to what the economist said “How would you attract such an amount of money so fast?” “Creating Free Trade Agreements, eliminating red tape and making processes more efficient. That’s how,” said Marta. The economist then recognised that, in fact, was a good proposal as it was part of a savings fund, hence, not a real goal to achieve in the first year of existence.

MPs were now satisfied with the job that has been done through the long twelve hours that the meeting has lasted, they were now preparing the pens in order to sponsor the bill, the president will also do the same. Parliament meeting would be in two days, but getting the job done fast was important in order to rehearse for the debate with some students that are part of a university debate varsity club, that offered to volunteer them for a couple of days with some argumentation techniques that could be useful for the presentation of such an important law package for the National Assembly.

Marta was aware that the package could be, depending on the outcome of the voting in the Assembly, a huge victory or a failure that could mark her career in politics, hence, she was trying to analyse the different outcomes and assess herself with the very best in technic and expression areas, as she knew that persuasion will be important to have while dealing with other parties. “Time to relax, time to enjoy that we have done this. Remember, tomorr…” Said Marta before being interrupted by Juanito “Today, mom, it’s 12:30 a.m. already” Marta paled and then continued “Well, today, we will have our debate and argumentation session with the guys that have volunteered to provide us some help in that regard.” The MPs sighed in relief and everybody left the flat, which was rented to do some co-working through the day.

Marta was being driven to home, Víctor accompanied her and then the latter said “Have you ever read about Penthesilean mythology?” Marta said “I didn’t, but perhaps Juanito has done it because of his Classical Literature class at school, then Juanito immediately said “I actually love Penthesilean mythology” then Víctor continued “Have you heard about Peitho?” “Yes” said Juanito before being asked by Víctor to talk about that character “Back in the old times of Ares-y-Penthesilea, there was a character well-known for her eloquence and great capability to persuade people, that one was Peitho, a woman that helped the civilians when proposing something at the ekklesía or the equivalent of a modern National Assembly.” Marta was baffled at the knowledge display of Juanito, then she asked “What’s so special about her?” Juanito took some seconds to structure an answer…

Juanito continued and said “Ok, what was special about Peitho is that she had a lot of charm while expressing herself and providing assistance to somebody who required it, as women weren’t allowed to take part on politics. She considered that argumentation, in order to be effective, had to be structured by knowing ‘your client’ and influencing their subjectivity and reinforcing how your proposal could be beneficial for them.” Then Marta said “That’s a bit of an argumentation class, isn’t it?” Juanito said “Could be, but I’m not good when it comes to debating. Let the guys teach you, they will do it way better than any attempt I could pull.” Marta and Juanito got off the car and then went straight to bed, it was quarter to one in the morning and their bodies were feeling the toll of such a work shift, they needed to fall in the arms of Morpheus.

As they were sleeping, then Marta noticed a weird flash on her dream, she walked with her usual apparel and noticed something out of place when walking through the streets, she couldn’t understand nothing as it was a foreign script, she continued to walk and then found somebody talking to her, but he easily understood what the woman was trying to tell her “Persuasion is the key to success, a big power that comes with a significant responsibility. Don’t ever dare to abuse it!” said the woman, Marta asked her name, then she said “My name is Peitho, I’m persuasion in flesh and bones.” Marta greet Peitho, the latter then continued “I’ll guide you to success with persuasion and debate, but there’s some young’uns that will perfect you today, listen closely to me and them.” Marta walked with Peitho and both sat near a fountain, Peitho said “First, relax and breathe deeply, you’ll need to be relaxed and well concentrated if you want to give a strong, profound and persuasive speech.” Martha breathes deeply, closed her eyes and did what Peitho asked her to do.

It turned out that Martha landed in the ancient land of Ares-y-Penthesilea and would receive a wisdom masterclass from Peitho herself, all of a sudden and coming from a random conversation with Juanito and Víctor, her assistant. Marta was intrigued but tried to camouflage her feelings, she didn’t want to raise any mistrust in Peitho, all she wanted to receive the knowledge coming from her. Marta then asked “How can I do some argumentation?” Peitho pointed out to a hamster playing at a wheel, she said “Put the hamster inside you to work, be tenacious.” Then she added “Well, the hamster will always strive to move forward in the circle, that’s his objective, to turn around from his original position. Similar happens with you, you should turn around any tool that your counterpart may have, that’s the moment that persuasion comes to play, use their feelings and considerations and always try to respond in a way that they might feel satisfied.”

Marta then said “Any specific structure?” Peitho stood up, she was leaving the place and said “Introduce the solution, elaborate how your plan will satisfy their needs or counter his premises, finish with a remark and resuming key aspects. Keep comfortable, be yourself and don’t try to be sophisticated with words. Sincerity is a key factor!” Peitho vanished, the dream ended as the clock marked 8:30 a.m. The meeting with the students would be at 10:30 a.m. still, she prepared to go to the meeting with them, as Peitho also requested in the dream, then rushed to prepare herself for the moment.

She left Juanito sleeping, as it was a weekend and there wasn’t need to leave somebody taking care of him. In the meeting, the MPs and she reviewed some key aspects of debate, including fallacies, to which a student asked “Ok, what’s wrong with fallacies?” then Marta replied “It doesn’t allow you to be sincere, to express yourself in a logic way and doesn’t let you persuade people” Another student said “So-so, it also can annoy your counterpart, and that’s something you want to avoid. It’s not cowardice, it’s a matter of respect and correctness while debating; You must attack arguments, not the people or the origin of its sources, keep debate as tidy as possible.”

The students also emphasised “Fairness is the key of the game. Be clear with your words, put your hamster to work and think profoundly with your arguments; you need to structure them as orderly as possible, then resume the key points while ending.” Then, one of them also added “We, as a nation, need fair and transparent politicians with a positive attitude towards debate, we need to build a culture of idea exchange with respect towards people. We’re glad that you’re being able to educate yourselves with the little input we’re providing you, and we hope you’re able to transmit this idea towards the rest of your colleagues, so Huayramarca can flourish intellectually and in fairness towards all her citizens. Good luck in your plans, we are open to support you.”

Marta and the rest of MPs applauded, then she thought with herself “Peitho and Túpac are being right so far, may God open the doors to help me deliver the promises made to Huayramarcans, I just want to be a honest public servant.”

[Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom]

RekanSport
Delays Hamper Major Sporting Project
By Grigorije Ilić

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The new Energija Rekadom Stadion has faced a series of constitution snags. A stadium renovation plan for the ages, the new stadium would have been the second largest in the nation. An arena capable of hosting major sporting events, and fall in line with long term government visions. However, the project has become a bevy of problems in the months since an ambitious start. Now, none know the future of the site, and all parities may need to adjust.

The Assistant Deputy for Sport & Culture, filling in for the cabinet member who was ill with pneumonia, opened construction of an ambitious project. The renovated stadium was estimated to finish in just one year. The stadiums facilities would under an overhaul, with the largest video board in the nation, and an upgraded capacity from under thirty thousand to a total of up to forty eight thousand. In addition, there would changes to the city block south of the stadium, with a rehabilitated Neighborhood Hotel, and office space for DD Porto Nowi. In the past six months, various delays to the construction of Energija Rekadom Stadion have taken place. The delays have had multiple sources. Municipal regulations to building changed one year after the proposal first entered public record. The Porto Nowi Infrastructures Office delayed the project by five weeks due to a legal matter, which forced modifications to the safety practices of building contractors PNKU. Due to insufficient funding from DD Porto Nowi and the Federal Government, PNKU have stalled construction until they acquire funds.

Major Outdoor Stadiums in Zeta Reka & Hügeltaldom (20,000+ capacity)

Stadion @ The National Sports Complex
Aleiusia, Glavni, 52,000
Energija Rekadom Stadion
Porto Nowi, Rekadom, Zeta Reka, 48,000*
Nowi Rudarstvo Korporacija Stadion
Platinasitgrade, Hügeltaldom, 40,000
IgorRade Park
Porto Nowi, Rekadom, Zeta Reka, 34,655
ColaKolaCola Kožalopta Park
Stassengrade, Hügeltaldom, 37,650
Winkle-Industrija Stadion
Matov-Uri, Ogroven, Zeta Reka, 28,500
Jul 15 Stadion
Ogradjena Brana Okrug, Hügeltaldom, 25,650
Proud Tigers Stadion
Alter Platz, Glavni, 25,000*
*Upcoming capacity
All Stadiums ranked by maximum capacity

No progress has been made in attempts to pay Porto Nowi's largest architectural and construction company. According to an article in the Rekan Financial Report, “Both major funding sources of the stadium feel the other should pay for fees created by unexpected municipal regulations.” The Financial Report article quoted DD Porto Nowi's Financial Director Miloš Nastasić, and an unnamed National Assembly staffer, who each plays the place game. Replacement companies have been hard to find, which Nastasić corroborated, “PNKU have a good reputation, and the circumstance for the firm's lack of pay are self evident. No outsiders have confidence in being compensated for labor.” The football club DD Porto Nowi wish to have their home venue back. The federal government are funding renovations as part of the nearly twenty year old 100 Project. Invented in the presidency of the late Iwan Maurer, the 100 Project plans to finish Zeta Reka's transition to global openness by the nation's centennial. Cultural sites, such as internally renowned stadia, has always been a core theme of federal policy.

Without a stadium, DD Porto Nowi will have negotiate to continue playing at IgorRade Park. Other events would complicate the long term schedule of Zeta Reka's second most supported club, but it may be the best option. E.K Stadion Vojska, controlled by AK Stanimir's owners, are not available after a denied ground sharing request. One stadium in the city is unoccupied, but has a capacity of around nine thousand, and is set to be demolished for housing. The training facilities of DD Porto Nowi are also too small for a major senior side. Returning to the old ground is not reasonable either, too much has been deconstructed, with the old stand demolished. All that remains are two of the stadiums eight concrete pillars of old, plus some of the infrastructure for enter and exiting the stadium. The situation is an embarrassment for a club with so much modern silverware, and for a major Rekan city which now had traffic problems in multiple neighborhoods due to constant presence of detours and equipment.

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RekanSport Top 6:

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• World Cup 91; Zeta Reka With Higher PpG Than 3rd Place Special Free Article
• Dead Olympian's Husband Charged In Poisoning Case
• Delays Hamper Major Sporting Project
• Kožalopta Legend Micheal Magern signs with Proud Tigers
• Platinastigrade Executive Seen With Schwartzhammer
• Amateur Football Division Abolished, More At Risk

Free Articles remaining this month: 5

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Home — Contact — Jobs — Legal — Cookie Policy — Languages (English — Rekan — Hügeltalian)

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@ StrayaRoos Barrier Islands

GK: Aleksander Basilić
CB: Didi Wukowić
CB: Karlo Gabrielstein
CB: Wlad Wlad
LWB: Jan Meyer
RWB: Wladan Momirić
DM: Marko Desimirić
CM: Maria Wieder
CM: Marko Zup
FW: Leonard Lölling
FW: Bogdan Rawić (c)
Named Subs
GK: Luk Bergerstein
CB: Anubis Zlatkowić
CB: Marka Krušlin
LWB/CB: Leo Wendschuch
RWB: Wladan Momirić
DM: Ena Bratić
CM: Edwin Markozy
CM: Jakow Krstowić
FW: Dženita Wladmirowić
FW: Nenad Mihajlowić
FW: Miloš Simeoniwić

Vs. Audioslavia (National Sports Complex, Aleiusia, Max Cap 52,000)

GK: Zlatko Wukowić
CB: Yousef Iwanić
CB: Karlo Gabrielstein
CB: Sidon Mauer
LWB: Nikola Djordjewić
RWB: Zaur-Luka Igorić
DM: Nikola Branić
CM: Stanimir Rekawić
CM: Tim Ulrich
FW: “Fen” Scwartzhammer
FW: Bogdan Rawić (c)
Named Subs
GK: Branislaw Mucić
DF: Jan Meyer
CB: “BM” Barto Milosawljewić
CB: Lukas Skaaland
LWB: Marko Dieter
RWB: Wladan Momirić
DM: Marko Desimirić
CM: Wladoslaw Dorboslawić
CM: Danica Wultz
FW: Arnald Gal
FW: Wladmir Imilić

[Kamisato Ayaka Nation]

link to infographic

[Ceni]

Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey

Chapter 7: Longstar's Peregrinations

After much huffing and puffing, Luke Longstar finally found his new office at the Cenian FA.

It had taken him long enough to find the FA office in the first place. The FA had texted him the address, after much prodding, but he plugged it into his map app and it couldn't find the address. He tried to plug in the post code. Of course, the post code didn't register either.

Luke scratched his head and tried a different approach: Looking through a postal code database online. Did he spend several hours trying to match up the post code with a specific coordinate? Yes. Did he finally find the address? Yes.

That didn't end matters. Although he plugged the coordinates into his phone's navigation system, the AI gave him the most bizarre route that involved circuitous paths, crisscrossing subway routes, and perambulatory treks. He tried to come up with his own route based on his knowledge of the Cenial subway system, but he later realized that he could have shaved half an hour by taking the light rail instead. Oh well.

That wasn't the half of it, as it turned out. He finally got to the Cenian FA's new facility, on the outskirts of Cenial. In the twenty-two years that he had lost in that godforsaken portal, architecture had gone leaps and bounds in the capital-b Bizarre direction. The Cenian FA's facility was no different, with a facility that supposedly emulated a soccer ball with hexagonal unit buildings and curved lines all around, with every sub-building either looking like a bubble or a Martian's house. Big yuck, he thought. Totally incongruous.

Luke's teachers had always reminded him to not judge a book by its cover, and surprisingly, the cliche held up. In this case, though, the interior held up worse than the exterior, with labyrinthine halls and an inconsistent numbering scheme. Hallways led nowhere, and Luke probably spent at least half an hour trying to navigate the serpentine passageways. He was convinced that he retraced his steps at least two or three times.

After all that, Luke finally got to his office. And he was disappointed with what he saw.

***

Jaina Ende-Dogor and Eilana Owen strode in lockstep towards the latter's portal control room simulation. Jaina didn't know why she tried to match Eilana's pace as if a movie director had decided to follow them with a running camera, but she tried to match her friend's pace nonetheless. It made them seem cooler, she supposed.

The portal simulation room looked both high-tech and low-tech at the same time: On one hand, its entrance looked like an Ancient Egyptian temple with the black alabaster seemingly covered in runes or hieroglyphs of some sort. On the other hand, when Jaina entered the room, the number of LCD screens with multicolored displays and multitudinous beeping indicators astounded her.

"This," Eilana said, "is the portal control room."

"I know it's a simulation, but damn," said Jaina. "And it looks so much better without needing to squint through a respirator or smell rubber all the time."

"Well, the controllers sit here," said Eilana, gesturing to a row of seats with too many levers next to each one. "After a plane gets entry clearance... the controllers pull this lever to move the plane from Sonnel into the portal, and then they pull this lever over here to push a plane from the portal out into Rushmore."

"And how does it work when planes go the other way?" asked Jaina.

"They move the levers, but in the opposite direction," explained Eilana. She flicked some switches in a hidden corner of the room. "Let's play with the simulator a little bit, get the hang of it."

***

Luke stepped to his office and almost gagged: It smelled like a chemical closet. At least it was recently cleaned, Luke thought. The office seemed like a janitor's closet in other ways: cloistered, tucked away in the interior, and windowless. Luke got the feeling that the Cenian FA didn't like him.

Why would he get the smallest office in the building, he thought, when the Cenian FA had high expectations for success in the qualifications for World Cup 91?

Of course the Cenian FA wanted him to fail, he concluded. But why?

Well, Luke would have to figure out an answer to that at another time. The first order of business: figure out where Andrew Arrowsword stood in this whole business. Andrew had not stepped on the fateful flight to Rushmore that had gotten caught up in the whole timey wimey business, so he had essentially had an entire footballing career in the intervening years. After Real Azuris, Arrowsword had transferred to Holdenburg City in Eura before finally settling down at Sanford Falls PREMIER in Sanford. (Yes, for some reason the word "premier" was capitalized: Luke had no idea why, speculating that it had to do with the glorification of the club's founder's massive ego.)

And rumor also had it that Arrowsword had gone on some quest to Drawkland, gained immortality, and wanted to settle down with his fiance Liam Penderyn.*

Therefore, Luke didn't have much confidence that Andrew would have any desire to come back and play for Ceni. And even if he did, Luke feared that Andrew's physical exertions on the quest thingy or whatever would dampen his physical prowess on the field.

But Andrew Arrowsword was Ceni's star player and perhaps the best Cenian to ever play The Beautiful Game for the Red and Gold. It would be early career suicide not to bring Arrowsword back for what could be his last hurrah.

With butterflies in his chest, then, Luke picked up the phone and made the fateful call.

***

After Eilana had shown every possible combination of the levers that the controllers had in front of them, Jaina had gotten stumped. With every single new permutation that they tried, the results got more and more bizarre, but none of them replicated the switching channel phenomenon that they had observed with AT7093.

Jaina paced around Eilana, trying to figure out what could have happened.

"Hmm, I could try to mess with the configuration here on this panel," said Eilana, trying to proffer a solution, "but this would normally require a supervisor override, and definitely couldn't be done by accident."

"Definitely?" asked Jaina.

"I mean, I wouldn't be able to stumble on a supervisor override by accident," replied Eilana. "Let me change some things here..." Jaina watched on as Eilana messed around with the settings several times, each to no avail. Eilana performed some complex calculations on some scratch paper, furiously plugged in new values into the computer, got new results, tried again, tried again, tried again.

Suddenly, the simulated plane started to move towards the portal's center of gravity. "What did you do there?" asked Jaina, with her voice clearly rising in volume.

"I changed a few settings to increase the center's gravitational pull," said Eilana. "This definitely would have had to be done consciously."

"What if the panel was left in supervisory mode and the operator messed around with the settings by accident?" asked Jaina.

"I knew what I wanted to do here, and you saw how long that took," said Eilana. "I don't think that's possible."

"Well, fuck."

***

Surprisingly, Andrew picked up on the first ring (not that the rings mattered in that day and age).

"Hey, what's up, Luke?" Andrew said.

Luke was surprised that Andrew recognized the number, given the whole time jump and all.

"Uh, well, uh, Ceni is about to play in the World Cup again. I was wondering if we could count on you joining the team again."

"With everyone who was on the plane twenty-two years ago?" asked the half-Drawkian.

"Yeah." A lump formed in Luke's throat.

"I'm in," said Andrew.

Luke's mouth fell open.

*OOC: Story of this to come in my RP line next cycle, more than likely!

[United Adaikes]

"We're nearing halfway this second round," United Adaikes national football team head coach Dylan Burke said in a press conference before another two-matchday affair for the Adaikesians in the World Cup 91 Qualifiers. The first match will be played in the United Adaikes, hosting Nephara and traveling to The Gothanita Isles for the second one.

"Well, we're currently 6-1-6, so that's better than how we performed from our first Qualifiers, but obviously, we want more. We're currently fourth in the group. We would like to have better results in our remaining seven matches, but it's not going to be an easy task, and I have surely reiterated this to the team. Losing to Mercedini was a big hit for our campaign, but we need to keep pushing forward. As I said before, these seven remaining matches will be crucial if we want something to come out of this. But yes, I can tell we're different from the previous Qualifiers.

"I love the cohesion I see from the team right now. And I can see that we can play whatever mentality we want. We can play a high-scoring one; we can play a cautious game. We can even change mentalities in a single match. But we also know the downside of playing different mentalities in a single match as we can be very vulnerable in other areas.

"I am just happy with everyone's contributions. Looking at the first round of the Qualifiers, we were scoring an average of 2 goals per match, and a goal always comes from [FW Collin] Maddox. He's getting at least two shots on target from an average of 3 shot attempts every match. I would also like to single out [MF] Cameron [Ross], winning an average of 3 tackles per game, and [DF Elaina] Braddock for averaging two interceptions every match.

"Starting the second round of the Qualifiers, we are 1-1-1, surely different from the 2-0-1 start we had. But I know the team will bounce back and get the favorable results that we would like."

[The Gothanita Isles]

The violence in North Handoria has been an absolute bummer for President Jokowi Handras, leader of North Handoria. For the past 40-odd years since the division between North Handoria and South Jeolerina, violence has been kept low, and such pro-democracy thoughts have largely been kept silent by the ruling government and the various measures put in place. The so-called media army trying to convey positive messages of the government on local media, while the government has tried to show how receptive they are to change by implementing "people's proposals", where people can submit proposals to the government and the government would implement. These are the measures which allow the leadership to get closer to the people, and allow the leadership to change their policies to suit the people. But one thing has been sure for President Handras - that there is no way in hell North Handoria will have free and democratic elections. In fact, it is the government's point of view that elections are simply "a waste of time". "What is the point of elections? If the government right now isn't broken, then we don't have to waste any time trying to fight for power and let random people on the streets create havoc as a result of the political bickering," he once told the media. Which isn't exactly wrong. But a lack of check mechanism means surely the current government is prone to various forms of corruption.

Wokean, however, is a special case. The people in Wokean admire the breakaway nation of South Jeolerina, and having seen the nation break away with much trouble from either Hallikshire or Otksarin. The people's appetite for democracy has been on the higher side, and they have lots of demands for a nation. Unlike South Jeolerina, however, Wokean culture is more aligned to the rest of North Handoria. Which makes Wokean a natural part of North Handoria. Aside from the high educational standards and demands for democracy. So the protests weren't exactly held all of a sudden, but rather, as a built up to the anger that has been in the people's hearts and minds.

South Jeolerina said that they will not accept Wokean as a breakaway state merging into South Jeolerina. Hallikshire and Otksarin has also argued that this decision of what to do with Wokean should lay with President Handras himself. And that, surely, will be the first topic on the agenda at the Leaders' Conference.