APwire ~ Affiliated Press News Agency

[Clarenthia]

Jurzan has begun military exercises
AP Alaghan

Today, in the wake of the assassination of Chancellor Riina Lepp, the Jurzani Ministry of Defense has announced that military exercises have commenced in the Kurmanji Tribal Lands of Northern Peshawar and the Khwandun Bay.

Mountain units will be conducting training operations throughout the Kurmanji Tribal Lands with several thousands soldiers being involved. In the Zhwandun Bay, six Jurzani warships and numerous naval marines are expected to engage in drills to prepare for naval combat.

Live ammunition is expected to be exchanged during the training exercises.

The Ministry of Defense stated that commercial trading through Khalakan Port will not be hindered by the exercises nor will the land exercises take place within a 20 mile distance from the Kadikistani border.

 

[Saaremaa]

Anti-war demonstrations in Kuressaare
AP Kuressaare

Demonstrations and protests have started in the capital of the Kingdom of Saaremaa after they have been called by the Party of the Left. The calls for protests of the PotL have been followed by calls for anti-war and anti-Prometheist protests by the other opposition parties, many of them condemning the fact that Prometheism, an ideology that supports democracy, has been tainted in Saaremaa by the power-hungry members of the Prometheist People's Union who have also been condemned that they are ready to start a World War, just to remain in power.

As the hostage crisis enters in it's third day and the White Guards show no intention of breaking the "siege" of the Kadikistani embassy (the same happening in Ivar for the Saare embassy), the fears of a Great Northern War are as high as possible. There is thou no surprise that dissent groups like the Party of the Left for Saaremaa and the State of Kadikistan for the Slavic nation are now working at maximum to do everything to see their enemies fall without seeing a great war starting, as that would make their ambitious harder to be achieved.

As Kadikistan is much akin to a hermit state that brings to the outside only the State sponsored media, we cannot know for sure what are the effects of the anti-communist campaigns of the State of Kadikistan organization, but in the more transparent Saaremaa, the call of the Party of the Left has been heard by more than 15,000 people who took to the streets to protest against the policies that led to the hostage crisis and to demonstrate against the mounting war.

The people of Saaremaa supporting the current containment policies of the Kingdom of Saaremaa have also been demoralized by the leak of a statement of the Minister of Finance, Andrius Saar, who reportedly stated that "Saaremaa will soon collapse economically. It has been to interventionist, by sending soldiers in Milesia, Cymru and Lauenburg; Funding the Prometheists world wide and with literally being the bastion that defends Oriental Scania and the Gothic Sea from Kadiki influences." There have also been rumors circulating which say that nearly 40% of the national budget goes to defense and security. Chancellor Kristijan Sisask said that he will soon organize a press conference in which he will bring "with sincerity and transparency, the true status of Saaremaa."

 

[Saaremaa]

Maseru Junta doesn't recognize the Kuressaare new authority. Declares independence
AP Maseru

Marshall Mihkel Vaino condemned the Internal Settlement of Saaremaa and declared that the Saare people of Himyar will not stand by and watch as communists take over the metropole. The Marshall called for a press conference in the palace of the government and also condemned the actions of King Alvar V, who left Saaremaa immediately after he heard that the Party of the Left asked to be part of the government in exchange of the internal settlement. As a response to the actions in the north, Mihkel Vaino declared that he and his government do accept the Internal Settlement and will not let it condition the status of their country.

"We see that Kuressaare has betrayed us. We will not accept the conditions of the internal settlement in regards to Himyar, especially the ones regarding the disbandment of the Loago Host and the independence of the country with the rule of the majority. Majority rule will bring in our country the rule of communists affiliated to Kadikistan and will bring also civil war, as the natives, who have no regards in the ideas of nationhood are ready to kill each other to bring back their tribal status," declared Mihkel Vaino.

As a response, the Marshall also declared that there are some changes that need to be done in the country to save it from complete destruction, as the disappearance of the Crown of Saaremaa has plunged the whole land into uncertainty. For that, Mihkel Vaino declared the complete break of the relations between Maseru and Kuressaare and declared that the Protectorate of the Limestone Coast, which he created a month ago at the orders of the Saare Chancellor Riina Lepp, is to be disbanded and be replaced with the Republic of Loago, a fully independent Himyari state. Mihkel Vaino, who declared himself now the President of the newly proclaimed republic declared that the Saare Himyaris will work tirelessly to civilize and educate the native Wala and Fante people so that they can end their ancient tribal feud and take the mantle of the white man to completely control the republic. A change that Vaino thinks will come at least in year 2000.

 

[Polesia]

Jatvigarian Free State refuses to recognise Calidian independence
AP Byalstock

The State Assembly of Jatvigaria has put itself at the centre of a potential diplomatic storm by refusing to recognise the independence of Calidia, a breakaway state from Lauenburg.

While foreign policy is the responsibility of the federal government of Trivodnia, it will likely strain relations with neighbouring Kadikistan, a key ally of Calidia. Amstov agreed to recognise Calidian statehood last week, although will not establish permanent diplomatic representation, and will instead deal with the Calidian government through its embassies in Ivar and St. Wilhelmsstadt.

Calidia was historically a province of the Grand Duchy of Jatvigaria until absorbed by Lauenburg in the 18th century. There have been on-and-off calls for Calidia to be reincorporated into the Jatvigarian Free State - a position that has been firmly rejected by the Free States' central government.

The motion to deny Calidia formal recognition received near unanimous support in the Jatvigarian State Assembly, having won the backing of the ruling Popular Social Democratic Party.

When contacted by Affiliated Press, a spokesman for the Trivodnian Ministry of External Affairs emphasised the vote would have no impact on Trivodnia's relationship with Calidia.

 

[Kadikistani Union]

Riots break out in the historical region of Khandahar after Kadikistan announces plans for relocating 75% of its Jurzani citizens
AP Alaghan

Reports from reliable sources within the historical region of Khandahar, located within the Kadikistani Socialist Oblast of Lurcheniv, have told us that large scale riots are taking place in the region. With reports from the rural areas being scarce we can only confirm that within the region's two biggest Jurzani populated cities of Mirok and Tsjevska the Kadikistani Revolutionary Armed Forces (RAF) are having trouble getting the situation under control. Unlike previous riots inspired by separatist and irredentist groups the reports indicate that this time a larger movement has risen up with approximately one million Jurzani's facing eviction and forced relocation. The few untraceable reports from the rural areas talk about RAF death squads, supported by local ethnic Kadikistani 'Marxist-Leninovist Brigades' sparing none who refuse to comply with the relocation plans. Reports from the city claim that shots have been fired, but it can not be confirmed from which side they originated. Eye-witnesses speak of 'dozens' of bodies scattered and lifeless in the streets. What is certain is that a high level of violence is being used to put down the riots and protests.

Kadikistani State Media has claimed that the relocation of the majority of the Jurzani population is part of a broader plan to help 'assimilate' the Jurzani people. By 'assimilate' the Marxist-Leninovist state means cutting them off from their heritage and accepting ethnic Kadikistani's customs and traditions as their own. Like with the other ethnic minorities in Kadikistan such as the Chernaeyans and the Azaeryans this aggressive policy has led to many problems and even violent confrontations during the past few decades. The Islamic Republic of the Jurzan, which has always been very protective over the Jurzani minority in their neighbouring country, has yet to issue a statement concerning recent events. Due to the successful efforts of the Kadikistani State to keep its people as isolated from foreign media as possible we can not currently give any more information, but we will keep you updated as the situation progresses.

 

[Clarenthia]

Massive Protests Erupt across Alaghan, the Jurzani Capital
AP Alaghan

Only hours after the announcement of a Kadikistani plan to forcibly remove more than one million Jurzanis from the region of Khandahar – a place they’ve lived for centuries – to other regions of Kadikistan has caused large protests to form across the capital city of Alaghan. While it is difficult to estimate, most have placed the number in the several thousand – including a massive gathering just outside the Jurzani Capitol Building.

Khandahar is a disputed territory between Kadikistan and the Jurzan. While the Jurzan claims the territory belongs to the Islamic Republic due to the cultural heritage, the majority of the world views it as Kadikistani territory. Neither states have recognized the other’s claims. Since the founding of the Islamic Republic, the Jurzani Government has been incredibly protective of the Jurzani ethnicity. While there is yet to be an official statement from the Government, it cannot be imagined that the Jurzani Government would not see it as a direct attack on the nation as a whole.

The protests seem to be calling for a war between the Jurzani and Kadikistani. For almost ten years now the tensions between the two nations increased steadily with a firefight erupting on the Jurzani Great River in the Northeast. The incident failed to gain much traction internationally – seemingly with most nations not caring about what actually happened. However, within the Jurzan it has sparked a severe response that threatens the Kar Government’s ability to hold onto the Parliament in the 1956 elections.

Opponents to the Kar Government, particularly the Khalq Faction, has demanded that President Khayrat step down for failing to protect their people. They have also not issued an official statement on the relocation, but most believe their response will be bold.

We will keep you informed on any happenings within the region.

 

[Touzen]

Thunder of guns heard across Herat Mountains amidst rising regional tensions
AP Alaghan

The crisis surrounding the Kadikistani plans to forcibly relocate approximately one million ethnically Jurzani Muslims from the disputed region of Khandahar appears to be expanding in intensity and regional impact as unconfirmed reports are coming in from the remote and inaccessible Herat Mountains in eastern Jurzan that earlier this morning around 6 AM local time, the echo of artillery guns could be heard for half an hour from what local witnesses report as coming from across the border in neighboring Kashtan.

Should the reports turn out to be true, it will be difficult to ascertain for sure which targets were shelled by whom, as news about its military activities are notoriously difficult to come by from the secretive government of the Turgan Basin nation. The government of the Republic is believed to have waged a campaign with significant numbers of casualties amongst the civilian population against the local Kurmanji Muslim minority in its western border regions in the late 1940s, a claim that is dismissed by the government as 'foreign propaganda'. For its part, the government of Kashtan has repeatedly emphasized that the Muslim minority 'enjoys all the same rights as the rest of the Independent Republic's citizens'. In contrast, it has in the past accused 'tribal elements' on the Jurzani side of the mountain range of attempting to violate the border of the Republic and has threatened 'significant retaliation' in the event of such violations. Reports on skirmishes between Kashtanese border guards and Kurmanji tribesmen have surfaced on several occasions.

The government of Kashtan has not released any statement about the purported activities in the Jurzani border area.

 

[Kadikistani Union]

Kadikistani forces pacify the city of Mirok while riots in Tsjervska and the rural areas continue
AP Alaghan

The riots carried out by segments of the Jurzani population in the Kadikistani oblast of Lurcheniv have entered their second day as reports of civil unrest are increasing. The latter as the news of the forced relocation has only now spread throughout the entire Jurzani minority, including those in more remote areas of the region. Reliable sources confirm that the Revolutionary Armed Forces have not yet succeeded in disbanding the gathering mobs in the city of Tsjervska while city of Mirok has been subdued with unconfirmed reports speaking of a slaughter in which hundreds of Jurzani protesters were either killed or wounded by security forces while thousands have been detained. Reports indicate that the RAF is working together closely with local ethnic Kadikistani's, causing an even deeper rift between the two groups. Meanwhile there are also reports of the Jurzani's who have proven their worth and loyalty towards the Kadikistani Marxist-Leninovist State are increasingly targeted by angry mobs as they are seen as collaborators and traitors while receiving less protection from law enforcement.

It was also reported that the first trains filled with Jurzani families has departed early this morning, less than a day after the announcement of the relocation plan by People's Commissar of Nationalities Lt. Gen. Ratko Leninov. According to the Kadikistani 'Glorious Leader's' oldest son the trains will utilize the Cross-Kadikistani Railroad, which connects the four cardinal directions of the massive nation, to bring the Jurzani to the northern planned city of Napedrak on the Zrenkanin island. Humanitarian organisations have already expressed concern over the conditions on these infamous trains while condemning the Kadikistani sate for the forced relocation. The Kadikistani government however claims that this new plan is being carried out after years of research and analysis and is the only durable way of ending the situation on one of the most dangerous borders of Europe. Information is still very hard to acquire from the highly censored nation, and it is even harder to check the accuracy of the information coming from within Kadikistan.

 

[Saaremaa]

Failed White Army attack on the Milesian-Saare Border
AP Kuressaare

The remains of the royalist White Army, still camped in Milesia have tried to cross the border into Lounamaad, the southern region of Saaremaa. Under the leadership of Marshall Andrus Masing, who still declares himself a subject of the Saare King Alvar V and the Arctic Crown, the Saare army that fought in Milesia along the Ivernian and Burgundian soldiers against communist guerrillas, has retained the name White Army. Andrus Masing has also declared himself a regent of Saaremaa until the country is liberated and stabilized again, for the king to return.

Soldiers from the White Army have abandoned their posts along the front lines between the pro-communist and pro-Imperial soldiers and have attacked the border defenses of Saaremaa. It seemed that the attack was expected by the government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Saaremaa, who have manned again the defense lines along the border, which were build when Milesia first declared independence. Under the command of General Roman Becker, the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army have defended the southern border of the country and have repulsed three attacks of the White Army that took place today. The RIA sustained 15 casualties and there are reports of more than 60 casualties being sustained by the White Army.

 

[Taley]

Ministry of State Refuses to Recognize Kalahari Conference
AP Shangqui

Earlier this week in a statement by the Minister of State, Zhai Meilin, that the Empire of the Great Shang will not recognize the present conference on the Kalahari Sea organized by the Socialist World Republic nor adhere to any of its decisions. The conference, called to address the growing crisis in the Kalahari region, has left many in the empire puzzled about how Huaxia would react to the discussion and decisions likely to emanate from the summit. The meeting has been both praised and panned by various states, but many mused that it was built on faulty ground with both regional powers, Kadikistan and Huaxia, notably absent from the table; Kadikistan leading a boycott and Huaxia's nonchalant indifference to Deliverance's demands.

Yet many wondered and believed that the Empire would de facto abide by any proclamation made at the summit held in Himyar. Those beliefs came to a halt with today's ministry statement that Shangqui had no intention to honor and decision made over the Kalahari.

"Our region has always been fraught with strife that comes naturally to areas with many interests that collide and diverge depending on the whim of any individual whom chooses to light a match around a powder keg. In the past cooler heads have always prevailed and they will continue to prevail into the future. The present status quo of the Kalahari Region has provided the necessary stability and has served all well to ensure peace when any threat steps out of line to destabilize our community. The Empire of the Great Shang will continue to abide by the present regional regime." - Minister of State Zhai Meilin

It is unclear how this move by the Touyou empire will effect the tension in the Kalahari or to how the present crisis will be solved; with a patch or a permanent fix?

[MENTION=83]Kadikistan[/MENTION] [MENTION=11]Socialist World Republic[/MENTION]

 

[Saaremaa]

Marxist-Leninovists consolidate power
AP International

Under the leadership of Roman Becker, the Marxist-Leninovist Communist Workers' Party is consolidating power in Saaremaa is a series of purges of what they call "Anarcho-Prometheist Elements". The first purges started in the education, as the Minister of Education, Ott Laht, declared that nearly 70 university teachers had Prometheist affiliations and are to be sacked from education and become part of the investigation of the State Security Directorate. The teachers will be background checked to see if they had any relations with Lauenburg-based Prometheists.

Purges also take place in the Ministery of Interior, as Minister Eerik Soosaar ordered the resignation of more than 1000 policemen who were affiliated to what the government calls "The World Prometheist Conspiracy". Minister Eerik Soosaar declared that the ranks of the Saare Police have been infiltrated by Lauenburger agents and that the purges might have saved the government from a potential coup d'etat.

General Secretary Roman Becker also stated that along with the elections that will be organized in this month, a referendum will also be called to legitimize the People's Republic. In support of the new government, members from PPU, the Country Party and The Democratic Liberal Party have left their respective parties and joined the Communist Worker's Party.

 

[Polesia]

Ministry of External Affairs

The Free States of Trivodnia is concerned by the continuing political upset in Saaremaa and hopes for an amicable solution where the rights and interests of all parties are acknowledged and protected.

 

[Axeldonia]

Axeldonian government correspondence

Axeldonia condemns Saarema for their use of violence to further political goals.

 

[Polesia]

Jewish refugees pour into Trivodnia
AP Amstov

The Free States of Trivodnia have launched a huge humanitarian operation in response to the surge of Jewish refugees crossing the border with the Chetnik Empire.

Threats to expel the Jewish community from the Empire have led to many Jewish families fleeing to Trivodnia, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in the world. The Yiddish Free State, one of the four constituent states of Trivodnia, was established in the late 19th century as a homeland for Ashkenazi Jews, and the country is currently ruled by a coalition led by a Yiddish nationalist party.

Commercial traffic has all but ceased between the two nations, as the roads and railways have been overwhelmed by people seeking to escape the Chetnik Empire. Units from the Trivodnian armed forces and paramilitary services are in the process of being redeployed close to the border for logistical support, and to intervene if necessary, according to a source within the Trivodnian Ministry of National Defence.

The Free States has condemned the rhetoric of the Chetnik Dictator, and warned of "severe consequences" if plans to limit the number of Jews in the Chetnrik Empire go ahead. The proposals have proven broadly popular with the Chetnik public, and there are widespread reports of attacks on synagogues by anti-Semitic mobs.

As part of a decades-old settlement programme, Yiddish-speaking Chetnik Jews will receive financial support if they move permanently to the Yiddish Free State. For now, the refugees will be sheltered in temporary accommodation, although it is expected most will be offered citizenship.

The crisis is likely to exacerbate the debate in Trivodnia over the direction of foreign policy. Unrest in Lauenburg and Saaremaa has led to calls for Trivodnia to take a more active role in regional affairs. Others have suggested Trivodnia maintain its non-interventionist stance.

 

[Northern Cooperative Unions]

OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE REPUBLICAN DIRECTORY OF MENDIAK

The people and assemblies of Mendiak find the current course of Saaremaa to be dangerous to the stability of Ivernia and Germania at large. Although the revolution of Saaremaa was waged in a similar manner to the peoples of Mendiak against our own royalist oppressors, violent purges are no way to go about change.

 

[Polesia]

BREAKING: Muslims turned away from Trivodnia
AP Amstov

Muslim refugees fleeing inter-religious violence in the Chetnik Empire are being prevented from entering Trivodnia.

Affiliated Press reporters on the ground witnessed members of the Trivodnian armed forces and paramilitary units turning away Muslim families trying to enter the country. Jewish and Christian families trying to escape the violence appeared to enter the Free States without trouble.

The Trivodnian Ministry of External Affairs said there was no policy of religious discrimination when it came to accepting refugees, and would investigate the claims.

 

[Great Engellex]

Resignation of the Lady Chancellor
AP Dulwich

Lady Rosamund Cavendish the Duchess of Kew tendered her resignation as Secretary of State of the Chancellery during a Senate hearing session, itself called in response to the crisis that had developed within the Council of State, on 8 November. The resignation effectively dissolved the Council of State, with the dissolution made formal by the Senate voting a majority to recognise Lady Rosamund Cavendish's resignation.

The Lord Speaker and Keeper of the Engellexian Republic Parliament, Lord Thomas Bartlett the Viscount Bartlett, summoned the Speaker of the Senate, Lady Cherie Rothers, and the Speaker of the Bare Commons, Lady Abigail Landingham, to deliver his Letters of Instrument to the Senate and Bare Commons permitting members within both to second his motion calling for the re-formation of the special Grand Election Committee. The motion was seconded by Lord George Beckett the Earl of Nomerset (Angellex) in the Senate, and Edith Clarence the Member for Castle North. Being a customary tradition of procedure within the Engellexian Republic Parliament, the motion was allotted fifteen minutes for debate, and a majority vote was made. The Lord Speaker and Keeper, having recognised their majorities in the afternoon of 9 November, addressed his Letters of Instrument to the constituent assemblies throughout the Engellexian Republic so that they may form their conventions for nominating candidates to the position of Lord or Lady Chancellor.

The Letters of Instrument from the Lord Speaker and Keeper to the Senate and Bare Commons also empowered, as permitted constitutionally during a Grand Election period, the dormant Parliamentary Joint Committees to assume authority over the departments belonging to the executive dominion of the Council of State. The Foreign Affairs Joint Committee, under the Chairman Lord Benjamin Boxer (Gyrwassen Islands), assumes the responsibility of managing and conducting the external affairs of the Engellexian Republic; the Naval Affairs Joint Committee, under the Chairman Lord Jefferson Spencer (Angellex), has assumed the seat of the Chancellery within the Republic Naval Council; the Military Affairs Joint Committee, under the chairwoman Harriet Geddes the Member for Henrietta South, assumes the seat of the Angelleaux-at-Arms within the Republic Naval Council and the Council of the Republic; the Commerce and Manufactures Joint Committee, under the chairwoman Lady Hester Appleby (Mary-le-Bone), assumes executive management and conduct of the Engellexian Republic's commercial relations.

 

[Polesia]

Trivodnian National Assembly blocks federal funding for Chetnik refugees
AP Amstov

Refugees from the Chetnik Empire in Trivodnia now face an uncertain future after National Assembly members voted to block federal funding for additional humanitarian programmes.

The ruling coalition was defeated after rebels from the Jatvigarian and Septcastillian Free States joined forces with opposition parties to deny extra financing for refugee camps along the country's southern border, arguing it was up to individual affected states to handle the crisis.

Chancellor Yitzhak Epstein is now expected to use his executive powers to deploy federal emergency funds, normally reserved for natural disasters, to plug the fiscal gaps caused by yesterday's vote.

Thousands of refugees poured into Trivodnia from the Chetnik Empire after the Chetnik Dictator ordered Jews to either convert to Orthodox Christianity or leave. Responding to international pressure the Chetnik government has since reversed its stance, but many Jews are still moving to Trivodnia to try and escape inter-religious violence and attacks by ultra-nationalist 'Ustasha' groups.

 

[Polesia]

Mass protests in response to Kadikistani military parade
AP Byalstock

Kadikistan's military parade in the breakaway state of Calidia has prompted large-scale protests across the Free State of Jatvigaria, with nationalist movements spearheading many of the marches.

As part of celebrations of Calidian independence, Kadikistani military personnel and equipment had been transported to the new state. Yesterday saw the centre piece joint armed forces procession, where Calidian and Kadikistani soldiers marched side by side in a show of force regional analysts say was designed to deter would-be interventionists.

Calidia's war of secession was a source of huge concern in Jatvigaria, with many fearing it would lay the foundations for a Kadikistani invasion of Trivodnia, with the state also sharing a border with Kadikistan to the east. Furious lobbying by the Trivodnian federal government prevented Calidia, widely seen as a Kadikistani client state, bordering Trivodnia, but experts predict it would only take Kadikistani forces a matter of hours to reach Kretyn, Jatvigaria's main port, in the event of a conflict.

Jatvigaria's ruling Popular Social Democratic Party has taken an increasingly hawkish line against Kadikistan since the Calidian crisis, putting it conflict with its social democrat partners in other states, which are more doveish in their approach. PSDP chairman Jonas Ulba spoke at one of the largest rallies in the Jatvigarian capital Byalstock, which had a crowd numbering in the thousands.

Nationalist groups have also benefited. National Resurgence, an irredentist movement that wants the Grand Duchy's borders restored, is organising a march from one end of the Free State to the other to drum up support. Calidia was historically a province of Jatvigaria, until seized by Lauenburg during the 18th century.

 

[Touzen]

Kashtanese gnostics reinforce Ark of the Covenant claim
AP Alaghan

A gnostic covenant in the remote Turshan mountains may be holding onto the legendary Ark of the Covenant after all, according to Dr. Herman Blumer from the Eiffellandian University of Trier's Department of Archeology, in a revelation that could be of significant importance to both Jews and Christians worldwide.

Dr. Blumer, who was granted a rare research trip into the tight-lipped and hermetically sealed Touyou republic, after having petitioned for over two years through unofficial channels and private contacts into Kashtanese government circles to be admitted into the country for his field research on Eastern Christianity in Ancient Kashtan, spoke to an audience of interested laymen, local scientific authorities and journalists at the Imperial Crown Hotel in the Jurzani capital of Alaghan while waiting for his flight back to Eiffelland being arranged.

"As you know, the research situation in Kashtan is unique, there are a lot of concerns by our hosts that had to be addressed [...], nevertheless, I was given a chance to speak to the Shining Cross Fraternity, having climbed into the Turshan mountain range, conquering tight mountain passes and the ever-looming risk of avalanches [...]"

According to Dr. Blumer, he had the rare chance to speak to the Head Friar of the reclusive group by means of an interpreter. The group is believed to practice an ancient form of esoteric Himyar-Touyouan Christianity thought to generally have become extinct in Himyar by 320 AD, but surviving in the mountain valleys of the religiously diverse Touyou outskirts. The Head Friar affirmed claims made by a previous expedition from Bourgogne in 1902, when the Basin was still a semi-independent vassal of the Kadikistani Tsar. Headed by the illustrious Alan Badeaux, a famous gentleman, adventurer and self-made scientist, the expedition claimed to have seen the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred lost symbol of the compact between the Jewish people and their god, hidden inside a magnificent chamber deep within the mountain monastery. Badeaux had described the Ark as "something out of this world" and "indescribably breathtaking, with a powerful aura", but on different occassions alternatively said he had not been allowed to instruct his photo specialist to take a picture of the object or that the photo turned out unusable due to the lack of light sources in the chamber. Further doubt was cast on his claims when it was revealed shortly after his return back home that his previous find of an ancient fossilized three meter tall camel was in fact a fake constructed by a thrifty Jurzani scoundrel, making many question the veracity of his claims regarding the Ark. Nevertheless, Badeaux insisted on having seen the Ark up until his death in 1922.

Interest in previous claims made by 19th Century Kadiki mystics about the Ark being located in Kashtan persisted, but nobody before Dr. Blumer has had the chance to visit the region, with the shadows of Kadiki civil war and then the changing political situation in the Basin closing the region for international researchers shortly after Badeaux' expedition. While not having been given access to the chamber, which he was informed had been sealed off by an avalanche in 1928, Dr. Blumer said that he had been allowed to visit a ritual site that was constructed on top of the chamber, which included a photo of the outside of the supposed holding place of the Ark taken shortly before the entranceway's collapse. While not confirming the rest of Badeaux' story, the professor said it "redeems, to an extent, previous claims about the potential of the Ark, if it exists, remaining, for whatever mysterious reasons, in Kashtan". Significantly, the archeologist was allowed to take a photo of the ritual site and the 1928 photo, a rare breakthrough in communications with both the skeptical friars and the Kashtanese cultural authorities.

Blumer closed by saying that he would be presenting his findings in-depth upon his return to Eiffelland and expressed hopes to return to Kashtan next year to continue his studies and that he was now convinced that "we might be at the edge of a breathtaking discovery."

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