Sai 16, 801 WG: A letter from Queen Evahn I to an ally in the Houses of Corum has revealed that the queen intends to approve a proposal which is currently making its way through the nation’s government, which if approved, will allow the nation to more than double its territorial claims in Northern Corum. In the letter, addressed to 5 term Solidarity Party member, Monie Oinie, the queen expresses that while she recognizes the importance of the role served by the Council of Courts, she has doubts about whether it can be counted on to fulfill its obligations in the event that it acts in a way which undermines the ruling family, or the Houses of Corum.
“The Council will always retain the right to weigh in on all important matters, and I will always aim to honor their advice,” says the queen in her letter to her long-term friend and ally, Monie Onie. “but should they attempt to advise falsely, or should they openly deny the will of the people by refusing proposals approved by the [Houses of Corum]…then the merits of their efforts must be denied. And I alone may serve as the denier of merit.”
The letter, which runs only three pages in length, and which was leaked to the Standard by an anonymous source, sheds light on a series of escalating disagreements over the future of the nation, such as the role of Passio-Corum in the wars of the Inner Desert, and the role of the government in developing national culture . In regards to the former issue, the queen rebuffs members of the Council of Courts who assert that the nation should play no additional part in the conflicts which rage not far from the nation’s border, which last year resulted in a minor war against Byen, a fractured nation of gamesmen to the West of New Zimia. In regards to the second, the Queen writes that the government should serve as a direct contributor to the artistic and intellectual efforts of the nation’s people.
“It is our role, as the ambassadors of law and order in our realm, to promote and protect the fundamental elements of our culture,” says Queen Evahn I, in her letter. “This naturally entails that not only should we act to improve the quality of our military and justice system, but we should also act to improve the arts and sciences.”
Already controversy has arisen over the letter, as many critics of the queen claim that the letter is little more than propaganda. According to critics such as Council Member Rafne Hife, who leads opposition to the queen within the Council of Courts, the letter does little more than serve to highlight the queen’s hypocrisy and lack of judgement, especially in regards to territorial expansion into the lands claimed by the region’s gamesmen, who have remained at war for around a decade. Encroachment on native lands, says Hife, will do little but serve to invite additional war in and around Passio-Corum, and perhaps even worse, the destruction of native cultures by New Zimian forces.
Pictured: A map of the territory into which the Houses of Corum aim to expand. Potential expansion appears in black.
“In her letter to her friend in the Solidarity Party, of all parties, the queen has failed to acknowledge that territorial expansion into Byanese territory will likely result in an increased prevalence of conflict in Byen, as New Zimian forces are drawn into wars against tribes like the Sufji,” said Council Member Rafne Hife, who was appointed to the Council by Lucien IV. “Despite her best intentions, the queen would have our nation contribute to the destruction of the Byanese way of life. I for one, cannot support her, and it disturbs me greatly that she would aim to subvert the Council and its authority.”
Queen Evahn I, who has not received the widespread support which many imagined she would, has not yet commented on the disclosure of her letter to Monie Oinie, nor has Oinie, who is slated to return from vacation later this month. One year after assuming title of monarch, many, such as Gedled Las, Council Correspondent for the Standard, have expressed the belief that the queen has become moderately frustrated by the Council, which has resisted the new queen at almost every opportunity, such as earlier this year when it failed to impose an order by the queen requiring the government to explore changes to its national security policies.
“The Council has shown that it will not necessarily regard Queen Evahn I with the respect it afforded to her father,” says Gedled Las. “Likewise, it is clear that the queen will not tolerate a lack of respect for her office. The next few months should be decisive in terms of determining how the nation’s government will behave, and how it will operate, during the reign of Queen Evahn I.”
Realm of Passio-Corum 