Luthori

[Edmund]

                    Government releases integrated defence and foreign review

                    February 4947

FORT WILLIAM, ORANGE — The government has released the white paper on the future of Luthori's armed forces and foreign policy from the review jointly conducted by the foreign and war offices over the past year. The white paper, personally authored by newly-appointed defence secretary Vic Scoles, calls for Luthori to take a more actively interventionist role on the world stage following its return there under former prime minister and new deputy prime minister and home secretary Tommy Brewer, identifying the communist regime in Dranland and the Kunihito supremacist regime in Mikuni-Hulstria as threats 'not just to our nation, but the world'.

"As a country sorely lacking in power projection capabilities, Luthori must address this issue with targeted investment in our navy and air force. This is also a diplomatic issue; we must seek to establish alliances with other countries and military bases abroad."

But the report also looks closer to home in Artania: "Our primary focus, as ever, must be our homeland's defence. Although recent developments in Malivia have made armed confrontation in the region less likely, we cannot be blind to the possibility of a war on our continent. Luthori's terrain, and the wider terrain of southern and south-central Artania, is best suited to armoured and mechanised warfare. The military's acquisition programme will look to expand its fleet of tanks."

And looks at infrastructure too: "All the same, we cannot solely address the military proper; there are wider areas in and for our military strategy we must consider. The most important, and in need of urgent improvement, is logistics. Infrastructure is in many parts of Luthori centuries out of date, hindering the rapid movement of troops and equipment, an issue that can only be solved with considerable investment: it will be required to double the infrastructure budget from £12 billion to £24 billion. Our aim will be to upgrade our railway system's capacity and quality by both making improvements to signalling and constructing new track. This will have wider economic benefits as well."

Scoles' review comments upon other countries besides Dranland, Malivia, and Mikuni-Hulstria. He notes that the recent victory of the Progressive Alliance in Pontesi has cut off the Teikoku Sensen regime's only ally, rendering its recently-proposed Pact of Mutuality 'effectively irrelevant'; Aloria, meanwhile, is described as 'erratic' and its alignment with Mikuni-Hulstria 'unstable'. The withdrawal of Dorvik, Hutori, and many other regional powers besides from the world stage is described "as an opportunity for any country daring enough to reach out and take it" – it is obvious which country, exactly, Mr Scoles thinks should, can, and will do so.

[Edmund]

                    Defence Secretary unveils naval expansion plans

                    March 4950 [post-dated]

ACKERLEY, SHIPLEYRIDING — Luthori is to begin the world's largest naval modernisation and expansion programme in centuries, Defence Secretary Vic Scoles announced earlier today at a press conference in Ackerley, historically one of the country's major shipbuilding centres. "A strong navy is not just key to our national pride, as the world's foremost naval superpower in times regrettably gone by, but also our ability to project power around the globe," said Mr Scoles.

"As part of the government's plans we are committed to building ten new shipyards, five here in the Shipleyriding and another five in the Middenriding, creating tens of thousands of new jobs. Not just will they provide opportunities and good pay, but also meaningful work and purpose for communities."


                    First of twelve frigates launched

                    October 4954

SWANSTEAD, SHIPLEYRIDING — The first of Luthori's planned twelve new frigates was launched today at Swanstead Naval Base in the Shipleyriding, an event personally attended by Defence Secretary Vic Scoles. The Plumeswood, named for the famed sea captain and native of Swanstead who served under Christopher Dove during his discovery of Dovani, is due to enter service in late 4955.

"This is just the beginning for the revival of Luthori's power at sea; even going beyond the ships ordered but yet to be built and launched, the government's naval programme will take another twenty years to be completed. This is a historic step forward in reaching that lofty goal, and our congratulations and gratitude must go to the workers who built it here in Swanstead," said the defence secretary.

[Edmund]

                    Brewer to retire from Diet

                    March 4955

FORT WILLIAM, ORANGE — Home Secretary and former prime minister Tommy Brewer has announced that he will be stepping down from the Diet at the next election. The former leader of Ord entered the Diet in 4914, the first election which the former Luthorian Workers' Party contested, and has since then represented the Fort William working-class seat of St. Richard's South. Since his former party's dissolution in 4951, Mr Brewer has taken the Conservative whip in the Diet.

Mr Brewer first entered government in 4927 as foreign secretary in the first Attridge ministry, most notably being hospitalised a month into the position due to a severe case of food poisoning from eating a parrot as a targeted insult against Malivia. With the government's defeat in the 4935 election he returned to the opposition benches, and following Ernie Attridge's resignation as leader in 4936 was elected to his party's leadership. He returned to government in 4939 as prime minister with support from the National Movement and New Luthorian Church-aligned independents. With the 4946 collapse of the coalition over disagreements between the two junior members and the NM's support for secularisation, he agreed to instead support a government led by Levi Ford, joining as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary; he has remained in the latter role since.

At the 4953 election, with the support of most major parties, he easily defeated what had initially been expected to be a strong challenge from the National Movement in his constituency, receiving more than two-thirds of the vote; no doubt Mrs Hurrington's party will be hopeful about their chances of finally taking the seat now that the veteran MID is standing down.

[Edmund]

LBC Home Service, 9 August 4960
Special feature: 'Conquest of Paradise'

"In honour of the launch of HMS Aynesbridge and the completion of the Aoverer-class of frigates, today we're looking at the men who gave their names to the new ships. We speak, of course, of those men who accompanied Christopher Dove on his 1492 voyage to and discovery of the New World; or, as it was christened in his honour, Dovani. We have with us Elwin Holness, professor at the University of Fort William, and Malcolm Spanswick, lecturer in naval and maritime history at the University of Alchester."

[...]

"Like the man he was lieutenant to, Plumeswood was born in Swanstead in the Shipleyriding, and in fact first met Dove at grammar school there. The two were close friends, really you could say he was the natural choice for second-in-command when Dove set out on his voyage."

[...]

"Plumeswood would actually marry one of the overthrown Iwanami clan's daughters, a woman named Akiko, a niece of the Duke of Idowa - the Kunihito name for Anderinch -, and he built the first fort at what is now Marchau nearby."

"Was that rare? You'd think the religion barrier..."

"Despite the later propaganda, the notion of a 'Hosian conversion-slash-conquest of the New World' wasn't on anyone's horizon at this time. Plumeswood's marriage was essentially an alliance with a local elite, not at all uncommon among the leading men of the early trading posts and concessions. It was actually almost universal among the first settlers, them being almost to a, well, man unmarried men, though those wouldn't have been marriage alliances. It's only when the Dundorfians, the Hulstrians, come later on that the first Artanian women start arriving; along with the notion that Hosianism must be spread by the sword if necessary, though that was down to developments back in Luthori just as much as it was the arrival of the people who would become the Hulstrians. Race is later on, after independence, and really a legitimisation after the fact of a divide mostly about religion - even still, it wasn't absolute, looking at the Gisoten for example."

[...]

"And I will, I'm afraid, be needlessly pedantic and correct you; it wasn't called Dovani until a whole millennium after Dove first discovered it. It was Doveland until the union with Alduria, when the two languages intermingled. They called it Dovanie with an e, we dropped the e by way of comparison with Luthori, and there you go."

[Edmund]

Emperor crowned at St. Richard's Cathedral
February 4960

FORT WILLIAM, ORANGE — His Majesty Eowin VI was crowned Holy Luthorian Emperor in St. Richard's Cathedral yesterday, bringing an end to an interregnum of almost four centuries and marking the first time a Luthorian emperor has taken the Orange-Villayn name since the death of the emperor's direct ancestor Charles IX in 3841. Thousands of guests were welcomed to the cathedral for the ceremony, including the prime minister Ethelwin Paglesham, and millions more lined the streets of Fort William to wish their new emperor well.


Duke of Middenriding's brother in lese-majestic recording
April 4960

MIDDENHALL, MIDDENRIDING — The Duke of Middenriding's notorious brother, George Maugham-Ponsonby, was caught foot-in-mouth yet again with the leak yesterday of a recording in which he described the release of the Charles IX letters, which paved the way for the ascension of Eowin VI to the imperial throne earlier this year after a 400-year interregnum, as 'awfully convenient' for prime minister Ethelwin Paglesham and cast doubts as to their veracity; it is unknown where the recording was made, or who made it.


Duke of Middenriding's brother dead in apparent suicide
May 4960

MIDDENHALL, MIDDENRIDING — George Maugham-Ponsonby, brother of His Grace William Maugham-Ponsonby, Duke of Middenriding, has been found dead in an apparent suicide, after he was embroiled in controversy in recent weeks. He was 64.

Related stories:

• Hurringtons stripped of noble status
• LBC announces Luthori's FOMAT entry

[Liukupukki]

Fort William,
July 31st 4961
Father Jonathan Keeper

As the Alliance has shown their true skin, betraying the church to work with the racist National Movement, which is lead by the treasonous Hurrington family, which was even stripped of their titles by their actions against the state, the Hosian Churches are outraged. Father Jonathan Keeper, the Grand Priest of the New Luthorian Church, and head of Luthorian Hosian Churches has made a declaration in the Imperial Diet, as the Alliance proposed a new cabinet with the National Movement:

Mr. Speaker,

Once again, the church and the religious people have been betrayed by political parties that act in favor of us, only to later show their true skin, and their hatred for Hosians by passing racist and fascist policies against basic human rights, the will of God and even their own words. This betrayal by the Alliance will not go unnoticed.

May Elijah forgive you, but may God judge you for your actions against him.

Father Jonathan Keeper,
Grand Priest of the New Luthorian Church,
Head of the Luthorian Hosian Churches

As a response to the churches outrage, and calls of unity between the churches to stop the racist policies from reigning in Luthori, has the New Luthorian Church resigned from all their cabinet positions, and made an announcement to the Imperial Diet, and to the people:

I, Father Jonathan Hillman, the head of Luthorian Hosian Churches and Grand Priest of the New Luthorian Church will declare unification of the Churches into the registry of parties in the Imperial Diet. From now on, shall NEW be known as the Union of Luthorian Hosian Churches, or ULHC for short. This is not an end of the New Luthorian Church, nor any other organization. Only the so called "party" we have to register as will change, and we will accept all members of Hosian Churches to be members of the ULHC. The New Luthorian Church will still be a full member of this organization, and we will not give up our structure in the Imperial Diet, we will only in the future be working alongside other Hosian Churches.

Members of the New Luthorian Church has decreased, due to the acceptance of other churches to the "party", but the ULHC seems to be growing rapidly in membership.

[Edmund]

                    Hurringtons to have titles restored

                    August 4961

FORT WILLIAM, ORANGE — With the National Movement set to join the government after the Alliance's break with the New Luthorian Church, the prime minister announced last night that he would be requesting the emperor restore the Hurrington family's noble titles and status. Paglesham said that this decision had followed "months of discussion" and had been planned before the recent rapprochement between the Alliance and National Movement.

Robert Jones-Silver of the New Luthorian Church, which recently formed the Union of Luthorian Hosian Churches with other Hosian congregations opposed to the government's 'racist and fascist policies against basic human rights', and head of that organisation in the Northriding, said "Clearly the restoration of Hurrington family's titles is a decision made by the National Movement and the Alliance! They are playing a dangerous game with their influence on the emperor, and if my assumption is correct, which I hope it isn't, this is a game of using the Emperor as a pawn, perhaps even bribery! How convenient that once the Alliance starts working with the National Movement, the Hurringtons are restored their titles, just forgetting their insults against the empire and the emperor. I truly want this to be investigated, as soon as possible!".

"Will no one rid me of these turbulent priests?" the prime minister is rumoured to have commented.

[Edmund]

                    Emperor marries Faust-Essen princess

                    February 4965

FORT WILLIAM, ORANGE — His Majesty Eowin VI today married Wilhelmina Anke von Faust-Essen at St. Richard's Cathedral in Fort William. The new empress is a princess of the former Dorvish ruling house, and the third sister of the current claimant to the throne of Dorvik. In attendance at the imperial wedding were members of the bride's family, Luthorian aristocracy, and government, among thousands of others, including the prime minister Ethelwin Paglesham - who has been reported to be urging a match for some time - and deputy prime minister Alexander of Hurrington. The Imperial Diet offered its congratulations to the emperor on his marriage.


OOC: For those reading this in the future, this by no means should be interpreted as either the House of Faust-Essen having a claim on the Luthorian throne or the House of Orange-Villayn having a claim on the Dorvish throne (or for that matter any houses related to the two).

[Liukupukki]

We interrupt your program for some breaking news! We have heard news of the alleged Elijah being found dead, and after a quick autopsy report, and some DNA tests, it was proven quickly, that the man is not who he claims to be. Father Jonathan Keeper, the President of the ULHC, the Head of Hosianism in Luthori and the Grand Priest of the New Luthorian Church has been put under arrest by the police on suspicion of fraud. Mr. Keeper is being suspected of being involved in glorifying a false prophet, and DNA test show that the two people might be related. As of now, Father Keeper has not responded to the allegations against him.

The ULHC is in turmoil, as their leader has been arrested. Many heads of the Luthorian Churches have come out and told the diet that they will be resigning from the ULHC, as they do not want to be associated with this scandal. The New Luthorian Church is in even worse shape. It looks to be completely disbanded, as only 5 members have not yet resigned their priesthoods.

Only time will tell how this ends, but it is not looking good for the religious people, or the ULHC


December 31st 4967

[Liukupukki]

Fort William,
September 31st 4971
Father Jonathan Hamilton

After years of the ULHC's disorganized structure, and the absence of leadership, has the Union of Luthorian Hosian Churches finally held elections for the leadership of the party. There were 3 main candidates with substantial amount of votes, Father William Rose, the head of Hosianism in Orange, Father Robert Jones-Silver, the head of Hosianism in Northriding, and a name that any Luthorian with knowledge of History would recognize, Father Michael Pierson, the great-great-great grandson of Colonel Jack Pierson.


Surprisingly, Father Jones-Silver did not even reach 20% of the votes, as Pierson managed to get a whopping 58% of the votes inside the party. The second-best results came for Father William Rose, who managed to gain 23% of the vote, which would have been enough to win if it weren't for Pierson. Father Pierson campaigned for reforms in the party, and was known to be from a family of great political figures, so he is the one people place their faith in.


Michael Pierson in a press release after his election victory for the position of President of the ULHC

Father Keeper, the man who was allegedly responsible for fraud, and foolery of most of the nation is not a man I look up to, but I do however have to fix his mistakes, and make Luthori believe in traditional Hosianism, one way or another. Perhaps this is the first step to success, perhaps not. But I make a promise, to reform the Union [of Luthorian Hosian Churches] to a point where it cannot be ruled by corrupt people, and false idols. What we need, is strength, stability and power. Keeper lacked in all three, I lack in none of them. I will make sure that God will not abandon our lands. May Elijah Forgive him.