A Shared Vision

[Serenierre]

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Kongensrådet Palace
Østfjord
​

The cloudy morning was fast giving way to gentle rain, a much needed relief from the heatwave of the past few days. Sitting in her office, Christina Knudsen looked over some of the documents that had been dispatched by the Sørlandet embassies from the war zones that was Gallia and Germania. The situation had worsened truly in a matter of a few days and tensions were even higher than before, if that were possible.

Østfjord was much calmer today, with less traffic on the roads and an increased security presence, as it was always when some important foreign delegation came to visit. The last time around, when the Kadikistani government had sent its own delegation, security had been even tighter, officially, due to the perceived risk to the Commissar Leninov but in reality it was just there for show to make him feel important.

Yesterday, the delegation from Cantigny had arrived in the capital city, having been greeted by the Lord Mayor and their own ambassador had been driven off to the Embassy Cantigny maintained in Central Østfjord. The flight had been long and Knudsen thought it to be unfair to have the meeting with tired people while she herself was fully rested.

Today, the entire Cantigny delegation had been invited by Knudsen for lunch at the Palace. After lunch they would begin the official talks.

Later, as Benjamin Stokes entered the massive atrium of the Palace, Knudsen stepped forward, with her arm outstretched and introduced herself, "Good afternoon, Mr. Stokes, its a pleasure to meet you." After a few words with him, she greeted the other members of the Cantigny delegation one by one. Once the tiresome task was complete, they were led into the 18th Century Old Style drawing room where refreshments were served.

An informal dialogue commenced:

"Mr. Stokes," Knudsen began, eyeing the man closely, thinking about his view on women in politics, "I am very happy that you agreed to attend these talks. His Majesty sends his gratitude to the Government of Cantigny."

After lunch, the two delegations sat facing each other in one of the many conference rooms of the Palace.

"Let me start of by saying that it my hope that these meetings result in a worthwhile, mutually beneficial outcome which sees our common interests understood and protected. Additionally, I would like to welcome you all to the capital of this Kingdom and His Majesty The King sends his greetings to Mr. Stokes." She passed a note of appreciation from the King to the Cannie man.

"Let us begin." She paused, took a sip of water and began, "It has been stated openly and privately, by the Cannie Government that, the status quo in Oceania is undesirable to say the least. The outright dominance of Anglyn is restrictive to our respective goals and it on this matter, the most serious one, that we would like to begin these talks on."

 

[Thaumantica]

A significant hubris swelled within Benjamin Stokes, a Grandson to Norsk Colonists to Cantignia in the tumultuous 19th Century. Surely he thought, surely the same snowborn genes swirled within his genes like a blizzard, ingrained deep down in to his human fiber. The sights and sounds of Great Engellex's glorious war were distant, but still yet the Vesper delegation carried a great weight on their mind and shoulders for the fighting and the dying that was commencing with the tools of warcraft that Cantigny herself had made.

"Group Attention!" the Chief Officer ordered, prompting his delegation to snap their black boots together beneath stiff statue like bodies. Benjamin warmly accepted the outstretched hand of Christiana Knudsen, taking the time to listen to an understand the woman of power. He watched as one by one everyone was introduced, though he felt constantly drawn to the masterful decoration of the Palace, of which he had seen very few rivals in his tenure. "Stand easy . ." he said after a few moments, "My apologies Grand Councillor, it is the Lord Chancellor's prerogative to transform the Foreign Office in to a Diplomatic Corps by the New Year" Stokes recalled from within his newly issued uniform.

"There is no greater honour to be had, Grand Councillor, than has been bestowed with this gesture from His Majesty ; Let me say though, on behalf of The Princess Royal, Alice of Cantignia & Great Engellex - that the young lady would be overjoyed and poised to impress His Majesty The King Frederic if given the opportunity!". The Chief Officer accepted every kindness and word with repeated thanks and a constant smile.

Benjamin nodded and watched as his counterpart began, taking out a pen and pad to take notes along with the rest of his entourage who were all trained to write without looking down, completely engaged with the individual speaking. "Oceania is unlike any realm from the Old World or New . . " he replied, "In the same way that I had to see the majesties of Østfjord with my own two eyes to believe, one must experience the paradise which is my home country with their feet planted in the sand, listening to the waves and whispers of nature that no man or woman could ever speak. To reign this sentiment in to something concrete: we have a vested interest, as you do for yours, in the sustained purity of our Nation and its ideals."

"Every youth in Cantignia of age is a Scout," Stokes said, pointing down the line at his diplomatic arrangement, some of them recently ascended from youth-scouting for national service, "and a Scout learns that preparedness is just as important as raw skill or refined prowess. The Commonwealth will assure always that it has the plan, the material, and the courage to meet any problem head on."

"That said, we are painfully aware of who our enemies are, ideologically . . racially even," the Chief Officer went on to say, looking for a stir of emotions with the mention of race, "The Empire of Anglyn and the Empire of Franken have reigned with impunity throughout Europe for centuries by entertaining their lust for war by stealing from Northborn Folk like yourself, and preying upon the wanderers and settlers of Europe like my own Norsk ancestors."

"We have a profound respect for Sørlandeten's culture, industriousness, and strength. This is why we are particularly eager to share our iron dream as soon as possible, with allies who seek this common vision: the fair exchange of natural resources, the production of industrial masterpieces, and a pact of defence to insure the propagation of our peace-loving people for eternity".

Benjamin gave an indicating nod that he was finished, "Grand Councillor."

 

[Serenierre]

The man sitting in front of her, Knudsen concluded, was a consummate diplomat and knew well the finer delicacies of the art that was diplomacy, much unlike the Commissar from Kadikistan, whose brusque manner had not rubbed well on her. She listened to the man quietly, yet with rapt attention, smiling occasionally at the man as he praised Sørlandet culture. As her turn to respond came, she cleared her throat and looked down at one of the papers in front of her. "A pact, such as the one you propose, is something that we were ourselves going to propose... as such I present to you our proposals for these agreements."

"I begin with," she passed a paper to Stokes, "the economic aspect of this proposal, as it is, in our eyes, the most vital branch of our pact. If agreed upon, it shall see our trade relationship benefit greatly due to lessened tariffs and other mechanisms intended to ease the flow of goods. The agreement will see both Vesper and Østfjord grant each other special trade status and grant each other precedence in trading of natural resources. Additionally, Sørlandeten will grant Cantigny special status in our oil exports. Visa restrictions will be eased to allow for greater interaction of businessmen and companies from our two countries."

Passing another few pages from her dossier, she continued, "And I continue now, with the portion on defence cooperation. The Ministry of Defence proposes the following: Enhanced access to Sørlandet arms industry to Cantigny military forces, possibility of joint-research and development of technology, intelligence sharing options and possibility of Cantigny being allowed access to existing satellite links of the Statens Etterretningstjeneste (State Intelligence Service). Of-course we would like to hear the Cannie perspective on this matter."

"Further along, the political aspect of the agreement shall see our two countries pledge a vow of mutual non-aggression and ensure support, in whatever way possible, in policies being pursued of mutual interest. The agreement shall last for twenty years, upon ratification, and shall subsequently automatically renew itself. If either party wishes to leave the agreement, it must announce so before the renewal date." She put her glasses down and looked at her counterpart. "Mr. Stokes," she said in her light, voice.

 

[Thaumantica]

"Cantignia, the Commonwealth, is in fact prepared to meet those obligations as outlined," Benjamin Stokes confirmed "With one caveat, concerning the defence of our respective realms." The Engellexic War for Montelimar would likely disrupt Cantigny's regular cycle of winter and wilderness training, which suffered anyways from Great Engellex's blatant lack of a sprawling wilderness.

The Chief Officer presented a military styled brochure of 'LIMBO ISL. - AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT CENTER'. The relatively small Island of Limbo, Cantigny contained one of the Empire's most valuable training centers, where Marines and Naval Forces simulated seizing beachheads, establishing aerial landing strips, and facilitating a full-scale invasion in a blistering heat or overheat weather conditions. "If an exchange of training cycles could be arranged, similar to secured timeshares, Cantigny would not only be content with our arrangement; we would be specifically willing to assure Sørlandeten is beside us on the cutting edge of modern military tactics" he said with a calm nod.

 

[Serenierre]

Councillor Knudsen let her mind wander for a few moments as her guest began his introductory statements. The general elections were a few weeks away, all polls were showing that her Koalisjon Liberalt would lose against the conservative onslaught. In moments where she did not have matters of international diplomacy clouding her mind, she would often feel that all this could have been avoided had the leftist Chancellor Fosse not pushed so hard against the monarchy. Yes, the monarchy was an outdated institution, but Knudsen had enough astuteness to know that it was in no one's interests to mess with an institution so engrained in the political and social spheres of the country.

As Stokes took the conversation into practical matters, she quickly focused at the task at hand, she listened quietly and with great interest. "If I have understood correctly, what Cantigny is looking for is an opportunity to utilize the landmass of our country..." she paused for a moment, considering her options. She knew the conservative Koalisjon Monarkistiske would welcome such a deep, strategic partnership with an important country in the Greater Oceanic region. "If that is the case, I find myself in agreement that working out such a regime would be mutually beneficial for our respective armed forces."

She moved onto the next point she was looking to discuss: "Mr. Stokes, in these dark, unpredictable times the benefit of possessing the right information at the right time is worth a billion bars of gold... thus, we are looking to see an intelligence sharing agreement put under place to ensure that common threats can be dealt with in time. And on a similar note, considering the common policies our respective governments in Østfjord and Vesper are undertaking, we would like to offer Cantigny – its armed forces and its intelligence agencies – access to our ever expansive satellite network. Though of-course this level of cooperation must forever remain classified."

Knudsen took a sip of water, indicating she was finished, eager to hear what her counterpart would add.