To End All Wars

[alxeu]

The Fifth Staol War had taken a lot out of Lusatia. By Prime Minister Szymon Poterek's reckoning, it had taken a lot out of every nation that had participated. The personal toll was far higher. How many wounded men? How many grieving parents, widowed wives, mentally-scarred young men?

Szymon froze, looking out the window... Had he, too, not lost his brother? Long-forgotten memories rushed to the forefront. Never again, he reminded himself. That's why he was here. That's why he joined the Socialist Labor Party. No one deserved to lose a loved one to war ever again. Were they not all better than this? The world was capable of soaring in the skies, building complex industries, calculating all kinds of scientific theories, and, yet, nations still sent men to all get killed and slaughtered  as though they were savages.

Never again, he had decided. Calling the Foreign Minister, who would probably find this latest plan whimsical, at best, he decided he would at least try to break the cycle.

Before long, Lusatian telegrams would arrive to every nation that could receive one:

From the Government of the United Kingdoms of Lusatia and Jzegrad, the Desk of Foreign Minister Ramūnas Valantinas:

For far too long, nations have dealt with each other behind closed doors, scheming and planning and betraying. While individual or regional diplomacy was the best that could be accomplished in earlier eras, we are all of us now privileged to live in a period where we can reach out to each on an international scale.

This wonderful development is a double-edged sword, as the Fifth Staol War has taught us all, but we can harness this potential to more easily resolve disputes. Disagreements between nations are more easily resolved and mediated when the nations of the world can band together to hear both sides' arguments, and put the full weight of a unified world behind a just decision.

To this end, the Lusatian government invites the nations of the world to send their eminent diplomats, much like they had at the end of the Fifth Staol War, to negotiate a treaty creating an international diplomatic body consisting of all the nations of the world, and, perhaps, banish the specter of war forever.

All the Prime Minister could hope for now was that others felt the same as he did.

[Moshel-Generał]

The telegram was meet with approval in the URRV. With the Peace Faction entrenched in power in the government the idea of working together with the rest of the world to prevent war was a tantalizing prospect for the Union. As such the Union confirmed they would attend, and would send the Commissar of the Internationale to attend the meeting in person once the date was confirmed.

[EpicToaster1]

The telegram would work its way up through MiniFriends and then even be transferred to MiniState. The telegram would find its way onto Minister Utkin's desk. She'd read through it, informing the remainder of the government of its existence. It would be met with all forms of feelings from the various officials.

"Are we sure this is for real?"
"I would assume it is. They just had a massive change of government, it can't be impossible."

"We saw what happened during the Fifth War first hand. Words won't stop anyone."
"But its exactly what we saw during the War that would make people stop and think. Do we all really want another fifteen million dead?"

"It's a pipe dream."

"This may help to bring the world closer together."


After many debates among the various Ministers, the decision would ultimately fall upon the First and Second Dictator.

"We can only benefit from an international body, no matter how ineffective it really is."
"But let's say it does have power. Could that power extend to interfering in internal affairs?"
"No one would dare accept it."
"If it doesn't affect them, would they care?"
"I guess it depends..."
"What if they try to use it to dissolve us? What if they try to use it as a way to get rid of everything this country has built just to make it their own rewards?"
"We've built all this to meet what the world wants. The people are content. The world is powered without worry. Why would they change now?"
"The world is changing, who's to say they won't change us with it?"
"We can at least hear out what they have to say..."


It'd finally be decided that Minister Utkin herself would represent the Republic of Koi before this meeting.

[VoxApocrypha]

 The government of the Greater Imperium of Rombarda would not render a formal response to the telegram.

[Greywall]

The United Kingdom of Ulster-Gaelia would send Minister Sir William Howell, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to represent them.

[callmedelta]

The Kingdom of Franerre would be interested in the proposition, especially considering both the current situation Franerre found herself in, and to a lesser extend the recent trade with the Lusatian government, sending one Senior Ambassador Soren Eclat to represent them

[Greywall]

Minister Howell would glare at the Franch ambassador, Frannerre had ruined themselves in the eyes of Ulster-Gaelia in the last few months, and for the most part the government felt frannerre to be responsible for all of it. To say Howell lacked respect for them was an understatement.

[callmedelta]

Ambassador Soren would notice the Gaelian's glare, but didn't pay too much attention to it.

[DrMedic]

The Lusatian telegram arrived late in the night in Eleria, being left in a drop box at Whitecliff Palace within minutes of its reception. At the break of dawn, Imperator Laurence rose from his bed, beginning to get ready for the day as he boiled a pot of water and checked the mail. He flipped through various letters and such, nothing out of the ordinary, primarily notifications and requests from different parts of the Imperium, things that would require a little bit of administrative action on his end to set things straight, among them was the telegram. He raised an eyebrow at it, curious why Lusatia would reach out to contact Eleria in the first place. With a sigh, Laurence tossed it on the table, much more interested in preparing himself a bit of breakfast instead of dealing with an international affair he couldn't care less about and had just as much business being involved in. As he enjoyed a simple bit of sausage and eggs, he kept thinking about the message, about whether or not he should go. Perhaps it could provide some interesting intelligence about the other nations, but of course no matter how hard he tried to keep cloistered away, it would open Eleria's channels to the world at large. He picked it up, reading over it once more while he ate.

Marina rose from her slumber not terribly long after, climbing out of bed once she realized her husband wasn't there. She pulled her hair from her face and stood, still yawning as she walked through the hall and into the kitchen. She leaned up against the doorframe, smoothing the wrinkles from her navy nightgown with her hands. "So what's that you've got then?" She asked, still rather groggy.

"Well, good morning to you too."

The Imperatrix sighed and rolled her eyes at his dismissive response before joining him at the table, taking it from his hands.

"You know I wasn't finished with that, right?"

"I figured as much, but you didn't want to answer my question so I figured a little independent investigation was in order."

Laurence shrugged, dismissing her words as he turned his attention back towards his food. Marina read the telegram over, not even giving it a moment's thought before opening her mouth. "You aren't planning on going, are you?"

"Of course not, why in the mother's name would I go to some country I don't know and couldn't care less about to talk to a bunch of people who I would very much prefer would just forget we exist and leave us alone already?"

"Aren't you the one that made first contact with Kumosenkan?"

"That was different, that very well could've become a matter of national security and you know it."

"That's strange, something seems to be missing here..." She said with a furrowed brow.

"And that would be...?"

Marina smiled at him, "Your point, darling."

"You're going to try to force me out there then, I assume?"

"You have a knack for predicting my next move, I'll give you that. I suppose I should be glad you missed your strike on my bridge, I would've been done for."

"Yeah, well, you try making an accurate drop when you've lost control of your left aileron and you're flying face first into a wall of flak." He took a bite of his food before continuing his playful defense, "I think I deserve a bit of a pass for that, yeah?"

"Perhaps, though maybe the air force should put an investigation into that ace title." She quipped.

"Yeah, that ace title is fighter ace, not fighter-bomber, and certainly not attacker."

"And does a brave ace back down from facing his foes off the battlefield? That seems a bit dishonorable to me."

"Oh you witch, you didn't need to bring my honor into it. It'd be just the same if we just stayed here and kept to ourselves." The Imperator replied with a scowl.

"We both know that isn't true..."

"Fine! I'll go, but I'm not exactly looking forward to it, and if anything goes wrong while I'm away..."

"I've managed thus far, haven't I?" Marina said, giving her husband a smirk that slowly shifted into a grin.

---

Having arrived at the summit in one piece, Laurence waited patiently for his turn to pass through the security checkpoint. He was nervous, out of his element, so many different nations of the world here, and now he, a slave, stood among them. He did what he could to shake it off, but eventually it was his turn at the checkpoint.

"Could I get your name and identification, sir?" One of the guards asked politely, holding a pen and a clipboard with a list of names.

"Laurence Albion, of Eleria." He replied as he pulled out a IEAF identification card, handing it to the guard to be checked off. The officer searched through the list, finding the Imperator's name and marking it with a time of arrival as well as a few of the details on the ID card. His compatriot performed a quick visual inspector of the Imperator, noticing a holster with a loaded sidearm in it.

"Your Majesty, I'm going to have to ask you to please surrender your weapon for the duration of the meeting, a simple security measure, I'm sure you understand."

"I'm sorry? I'm afraid I don't actually."

"Your pistol, in the holster on the right side of your belt. Please surrender your weapon and it will be returned to you after the meeting." He persisted.

"Really? This is part of my uniform, surely there's another way we could go about this." The Imperator replied, nervous at the prospect of handing over the gun that had been by his side through thick and thin.

The guard turned to his superior, looking for a bit of guidance. With a sigh, the man with the list relented. "Remove the magazine and clear the chamber here in front of us, and keep it unloaded while you're in there. Follow those simple instructions and we won't have any trouble."

Laurence did as he was told, placing the magazine into one of the pockets on his coat and adjusting his tartan sash to cover the bulge a bit better. "There, will that suffice?"

"Yes, that'll do." The supervisor replied as he extended an arm, directing the Elerian into the meeting hall. Laurence gave a light bow before entering the room, with the supervisor only opening his mouth out of earshot of the Imperator and in his own native tongue. ["Damn Elerians, sometimes I wonder if their whole state's gone bloody insane..."] His partner responded with a simple shrug.

Laurence took a seat next to the most familiar flag he knew, the minister from the UKUG on his left. He noticed the tartan the man was wearing, not terribly dissimilar in pattern from his own, though carrying vastly different colors from House Albion's white, black, and red.

"Clan Howell, if I recall, yeah? I apologize if my accent makes me a bit... difficult to understand."

[Greywall]

Howell was amused, the Gaelians had a long difficult history with Eleria, so he was glad to see another Tartan in the meeting. It would take him a moment to realize he wasn't being spoken to in Caledonian but was patient and responded back in his native tongue, "White, Black and...Red. Clan Albion. Which makes you Laurence, the honor is mine Imperator, it's nice to see Eleria finally come out of her fortress. Your accent is fine, we still teach Tireil in our Ministry in the event Eleria joined the world stage. Glad to see it finally happened, understandable why it took this long."

[DrMedic]

"I'm glad someone not only remembers we exist, but also understands our rather unique set of circumstances. Admittedly though, I'm rather impressed you teach Tireil, I had figured that after we had gained our independence and kept entering civil wars you had deemed us a lost cause. How are things within Ulster-Gaelia? I haven't been able to pay much attention to realms outside my own, so you must forgive me if I am a little less than caught up with current events."

[Greywall]

“Has been taught since King James II, following the touli war and your first uprising against Eonia. We fare well, the empire has maintained and grows with trade and alliances following the recent stoal war. If the status quo continues we should see unprecedented progress in global cooperation and wealth for us all.” He glanced at the Franch and Veltist representatives, “but that might be a pipe dream. Seems some would prefer to rock the boat.”

[aimway921]

While Tenno chose to not include his Empire in what he deemed a senseless affair, he did not hold the power anymore. Crowned Empress mere hours ago, the new Tenno Yuzuru authorized a representative, much to the joy of Ashigawa's upper class, at least the portion of them close to Yuzuru, who were aware of the danger oncoming to their nation.

One of Tenno Yuzuru's closest friends, Yokasama Miyo, a young noble, was chosen for this diplomatic mission. She would arrive as fast as possible.

[DrMedic]

"You don't know the half of it, seems I can't even so much as get a brief moment's respite anymore, always running around cleaning up after someone's mess."

[Greywall]

“Welcome to global politics, you’ll get there. Maybe if anything I encourage you to end isolation with ulster Gaelia, there are many in parliament who would like to see such a thing as prolonged diplomacy.”