Westwind declares State of Emergency

[Naivetry]

Citizens of Equilism,

A State of Emergency is hereby declared by the Monarchy of The Realm.

I Westwind, King of The Realm of Equilism, do hereby invoke Emergency powers as provided in the Constitution of Equilism. I have consulted with and obtained the concurrance of Chaucerin, Lord High Steward in order to enact this State of Emergency.

A full announcement of high importance on the nature of this State of Emergency will be made to the region in 48 hours.

In the meantime, all Forum, Government, Civil, Military, and Judicial offices, mechanisms, and policies are placed under the full authority of the Monarchy. All Chancellors, Officers, Soldiers and Advocates shall carry out any directives given by the Monarch.

Specific directives are as follows:

- The E-Army is ordered to immediately garrison the region. All soldiers shall return to or stay in Equilism until further notice. All soldiers are ordered to endorse the following nations: The Monkye, Westwind, and Chaucerin.

- Regional Control of the region is now turned off.

- The Equilism Intelligence Agency is directed to raise the regional security level to 'Elevated' as a precaution.

- The Lord High Advocate is directed to continue the current Election Cycle as scheduled. No interruption of Elections is to take place.

- The Chancellory for Foreign Affairs shall direct all Ambassadors to post this notice of a State of Emergency in Equilism in their respective Embassies immediately, within 24 hours of this posting. The Chancellory is also notified to be prepared to make a similar Embassy posting of the announcement to be made in 48 hours.

- No new Embassies shall be accepted or established until after the announcement.

- Immigration and Domestic Affairs are directed to continue with their normal operations.

The Monarchy requests that the citizens of Equilism direct their attention to the forthcoming announcement for further information. Additional directives will be given as necessary.

State of Emergency
Established this 6th day of May, 2009
Westwind, King of The Realm of Equilism

[Anime Daisuki]

What is the reason for this emergency declaration? Is Equilism at war with another region?

*curious*

[Naivetry]

It's just been posted.

Announcement regarding the State of Emergency, by Westwind

Citizens of Equilism and friends across NationStates,

Thank you for you kind attention, and for your concern over the issuance of the current State of Emergency. I appreciate the interest you all have in the well being of our region. I have sought to draw your attention tonight to a matter of importance concerning the region of Equilism.

First of all, let me assure you that the State of Emergency does not mean that there is a problem or threat against us. At no time has the security of the region been at any risk from internal or external threats or forces. The region is secure. Nor are there any personal issues of concern in regards to this State of Emergency. It is my desire at this time to put your minds and hearts at ease. There is no cause for alarm or worry.

Now, I hope you will bear with me, as I explore a bit of Equilism history.

As most of you know, Equilism was founded in January 2004 by Equility (Max...no, not that one). And shortly thereafter I was recruited to the region. Within two weeks I was drawn onto the forum and elected into the first Senate of the region. At that time, our main leaders were Equility, Rhonanvin, Tomika, with the advice of Ostendt from Belgium. (Our first alliance was with Belgium, BTW.) Our first Constitutional Convention was in process. Equility had presented the first Constitution, having largely based it upon the as yet unratified ADN Constitution. Both of those Constitutions established a shared Executive. In ADN, it was the President and Director, while in Equilism it was the President and Prime Minister.

Another early advisor from outside the region was P-topia. I doubt that anyone still in Equilism will remember him. He and Ostendt helped us to structure, prepare and organize the region’s Military and Intelligence capabilities in the beginning. Tomika though, is the true founder of the E-Army. He devised our first rank structures, awards and training. He stepped down as Prime Minister, so that he could concentrate his time and efforts on the Military. (Which lead to me becoming Prime Minister in his place.) The foundation that he set for the E-Army was built upon from that day forward, all the way to the present

In the summer of 2004 as the game slumped and players took time for vacations, Equility shared the founder nation password with Ostendt and I, to look after the nation and region when he was absent. He said that he considered the two of us to be co-founders of the region.

Yet eventually, Ostendt choose to resign as a Commander in the E-Army, and withdraw from the greater gameplay of NationStates. ‘O’, as we knew him, showed up from time to time over the years to say ‘hi’, and his ancient nation was often found in Belgium. But it seems he has been gone now for quite some time.

Equility and I sought to guide the region as we could, while clearing the way for new players to have the opportunity to rise and take the reins of the region. Yet we held the concern that someday there could come a player that would rise up to the Presidency or Prime Ministership that would be a danger to the region. We basically decided that should such an event occur, that one of us would run for office against this person. We also sought to take turns in being the primary person taking care of the region in the background – advising and taking care of the administrative tasks. But finally one day, Equility went on vacation and never returned to full activity. He found that wide world of Real Life.

For a very long time I hoped and waited for him to return. I tried to maintain the vision and ideal for the region with which he founded it. And I admit, that I did not fully agree with all of his positions. And so I felt restricted in what I could do. But that was not healthy for the region. We always believed in making sure that Equilism was flexible, and I slowly edged towards more flexibility. Yet, time and again, my own interest was waning. I have been often ready to ‘retire’ from NationStates. I couldn’t abandon Equility’s region though. I was it’s caretaker. I was still waiting for him to return.

In 2006, the summer slump came and went. Activity did not recover. The Defender world of which we were a part, was dead. Influence was merely the final nail in the coffin, as the invader/defender dynamic had been fading for some time prior to the establishment of Influence. The government of Equilism was essentially dead as well. The only few posts on the forum were in the games areas. And that was waning too.

We still watched events in the other regions of NS. We were getting passed by as the whole NS World interregional dynamic had changed. We were failing to change with it. This precipitated the ‘Schism’ in October 2006, which revitalized the region, and established The Realm which has served us for nearly 2 ½ years. It was at this dynamic pivot in our history that I was able to shake myself from being a simple caretaker to being the founder in whole, of Equilism. That pivot is something that I used as a tool in our roleplay in carrying out the Schism.

So what has all this got to do with the State of Emergency that I declared 48 hours ago ? Why am I wasting your precious time with all this ?

Because another crucial moment, another pivot in the history of Equilism is upon the region. And because it is a rather personal and somewhat difficult moment for myself.

To everything there is a time and a season. And change is an immutable constant of the universe. Change is an endless stream that travels through this life, this universe in which we live. And change is what I have to give to Equilism, one last time.

And now the Announcement that you have been waiting for….

I, Westwind, King of The Realm of Equilism, do hereby abdicate the Monarchy of Equilism and relinquish the founding nation Equility, effective May 8, 2009 20:00 Mountain Daylight Savings Time. At that time, the Lord High Steward Chaucerin shall become Monarch of The Realm of Equilism, and Keeper of Equility.

The Steward is in possession of the current founder password, and will change the password at that time.

The State of Emergency shall continue in effect until Monarch Chaucerin orders otherwise.

...

My dear friends

In a time of endings, there are opportunities for new beginnings. Make full use of this opportunity. There is nothing but blue sky ahead of you. Nothing but possibilities. Do not let yourself be bound to the past. Do not let history hold you back. Refresh your vision, step forward renewed. Think out of the box and outside of the past.

Let me reassure you this one thing: I am not wholly leaving. I’ve accomplished everything that I wanted to, and more that I had ever imagined. I will be continuing to assist with the administration of this forum, and if you ever need advice or an opinion, I’ll be right over there.

*points to the rocking chair on the back porch*

My time of leading and guiding intrigue, events, and ideas are done. I’ve provided a parade of puppets as I’ve moved them home to Equilism, or revived them and brought them home to Equilism. I’d suggest making use of that apparent bump in population to the advantage of further recruitment. (I might even be willing to 'sell' a few puppets if anyone finds one interesting)

I know that the region couldn’t be in better hands. ‘Be with The Best’ isn’t just a slogan, we’ve lived it. Each and every one of you proves that. So many people past and present have given so much of themselves to make our region, our community, the great place that we have today. Thank you so very much for everything that each of you have done. We’ve proven that quality that can be built from such diversity from all over the world. We’ve proven that a world community can come together, work together, play together, and make our collective home a better place.

Thank you all for the opportunity to enjoy this game with you. Thank you for the opportunity to get to know some of you. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you, to choose sides with you, choose directions with you, build ideas together with you. Thank you for the time we've shared here in this corner of cyberspace. In this place called Equilism.

Peace,
Westwind
8 May, 2009

[Naivetry]

Chaucerin, King of Equilism: Westwind Steps down, Steward accepts the Crown

It is with mixed emotions that I have agreed to ascend to the throne of Equilism and become only the second King of this great region.

While I am excited at the opportunity to grow and rebuild, I am feeling a profound sense of loss at what is surely the end of an age; and the Age of Westwind was a good one.

I have been in this region for nearly five years, and even when I was new, Westwind had already imprinted this region with his spirit and personality as one of The Founders. The contributions of Westwind in this region are literally too numerous to list. There will be another time and a place to give him his due for the peerless service that he has rendered to this region. Suffice it to say, for now at least, that no one has ever done more for us than Westwind.

Our task now is to look ahead.

We have all heard time and time again that we have come to the end of NationStates. We have all been told that the game is in decline and soon to die.

I have been hearing this for at least three years. I did not believe it then and I do not believe it now.

The game is very different now – the rules have changed and the names that once were legend are now forgotten. But that does not mean that the game is coming to end. New regions are still being born and new players are still joining. If we are to remain relevant and survive we must grow. We must adapt and join this new generation of players; we cannot remain married to old dogmas, we must evolve.

There is no secret to power and relevancy in Nation States. If you are a power at home, you will be relevant across this world.

We must become a power again, and together, we will. Our best days can still be ahead of us if we can unify to a single, higher purpose. Equilism, ancient and proud, can stand among the new titans of this game and be counted as the best among them. But we cannot do this as players; we can only do this together as a region.

In the next few days, I will consult with the newly elected Lord Chancellor as well as a circle or advisors who will represent this community. Together, we will lay out the direction for Equilism and announce our new imperatives. These new imperatives will not please you all, but they will ensure that we survive and that we thrive.

It has always been true that you will only get a region that is as good as you make it. Westwind showed us how true that can be, and now we will move on once again.

We will make a new region together, and it will be grand.

Effective immediately, I hereby name Naivetry as acting High Steward. This is a provisional appointment pending the outcome of the current elections for Lord Chancellor.

[Noyzistan]

Westwind retiring?! *sniff*

[Gateborg]

Interesting news, I wish Chaucerin and Equilism good luck in the future.

[Nataniel]

Farewell Westwind and good luck to the new ruler of Equilism!