Last time we did one of these, a lot of things happened over the course of a year, and came to a climax in a matter of months. In a very short amount of time, something similar has happened, and I am happy to show another full-length digest despite the fact we are not even 3 months out from the last release. Like last time, we hope that this digest condenses the major events that have transpired since May into the most salient and relevant details and informs you, our citizenry, as well as anyone else who takes a look, and points you in the right direction if you wish to study and learn more. We can't cover everything, even in this relatively short span compared to the last one, since a lot happened, particularly within the last week. If you think we missed something, whether by omitting it entirely, or by missing key details, we'd like to hear from you. Other feedback is also welcome. Hopefully this is educational and fun.
-Pallaith, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Despite what BoM and their allies claimed, the Modern Gameplay Compact (MGC) sanctions really took a toll. They had very limited ability to offer players any variety outside of military action, which was not bringing the kind of numbers it had in their earlier years. And when the opposition was simply too strong to overcome, their lack of cultural identity and reliable partners to expand their gameplay horizons guaranteed their fall. BoM was proud to have challenged and broken the great peace that existed for going on a decade in gameplay, and the game was more unstable and in conflict as a result of their actions and the responses to it. Long-standing alliances, including two with TNP, were ended over disputes related to the conflict and how to handle it. The game appeared to divide into several camps based on their disposition toward that conflict. The Independent sphere remade itself, defenders split over how to handle it. And ultimately even the new multi-lateral partnerships formed in the wake of BoM's arrival were splintered or restructured by the time BoM called it quits. I would normally go into further details on this point, but TNP's statement on the end of this war includes a timeline of the war and its key moments, and says this better than I could replicate in these pages - it is definitely a resource to consult in addition to this digest. Europeia's EBC radio also featured a two hour show on this topic which includes additional perspectives on the progression of the war and TNP's allies' response to it, which also comes highly recommended. We will likely explore this in greater depth at a later time as well. Suffice to say, the game is fundamentally in a different place than it was three years ago, and while the events earlier this year contributed the lion share of why, those events would not have taken the shape they did were it not for the existence of this conflict.
That being said, who is really to blame, or credit, for that? BoM, who simply raided and antagonized everyone they possibly could, or the MGC, which organized, advocated, and ultimately successfully amassed enough votes in the WA or troops on the battlefield to confront BoM and its allies? The facts of the war are that BoM eventually lost in every area, and its enemies continued to grow in strength even as raiders superficially shrugged and attempted to minimize their efforts. Solidarity broke the back of BoM's allies in the leftist sphere, and the doomed peace talks between BoM and TNP revealed that the sanctions remained a great pain point and cause for concern. A type of defending that fits the natural inclinations of Europeia and TNP has become the dominant form, and this approach is represented in the MGC's makeup, which truly shows the modern concept of not only Independence but defending as well. The sanctions laid the groundwork for a successful voting bloc model that has transformed the entirety of the World Assembly (WA) into another front of gameplay, and has altered the norms of the institution forever. BoM may have fired the first shot, but that transformation was the result of the other spheres' machinations and strategy. BoM challenged the world to play by its rules, but the reality of NS as it has now been written was penned by the MGC and its defender allies, and the totality of their decisions, good and bad. The battles they waged in every area of the game, and the rivals and supposed allies they jockeyed with for influence, led to the current alliances and battlefronts that define gameplay today. Fighting over sanctions and their applications, winning the hearts and minds of players in unaligned regions, and wrestling with acceptable forms of defending and even raiding are all the hallmarks of the past three years, and BoM did not have anything of value to contribute to those discussions or debates, except to continue to be the example of what not do to, and to continually inspire and bolster their enemies through their continued taunting and anti-social behavior that was increasingly rejected by everyone else. As villains to confront, they played their role well, and as sources of chaos and discord, they excelled far better than any group in many years. The world changes because of players like this, but it is usually constructed over their metaphorical ashes after the real movers and shakers are finished with them. Their legacy will be debated for a long time, though the conclusions will likely amount to the same thing. And their influence over other raiders will determine how the aftermath plays out, and whether their faction can recover, or if their descendants will find themselves with the same difficulties their imitators will continue to experience in the days ahead.
On May 29 the MGC announced, in the wake of TCB's departure, the completion of a deal with the remaining members who continued to try to come to an understanding. TLA pledged to withdraw from partnership with BoM's Raider Unity sphere and acknowledge the delegate tip of TNP as an unjustified attack. The MGC in turn pledged to remove TLA from its sanctions and establish a timeline for de-occupying and returning Solidarity to the recognized representative of its government-in-exile, Kavagrad. Both sides also expressed openness to a more lasting and comprehensive peace agreement, including any other members of NSLeft who may want to join in. With this, the isolated and weakened TCB was the only alternative source of support BoM could count on, and given their primary generator of activity was long gone following a ban, they did not have much to offer in the way of troop numbers anymore. The situation worsened as their delegate nation inched ever-closer to ceasing to exist. Without an active delegate they had no influence in the WA and no way to appoint new officers after each successive election they conducted in his absence. They caught a slight break when the delegate nation began to carry out its duties again in recent weeks, but they continue to hemorrhage nations and endorsements. When the war first began and BoM and TCB seemed to be at the height of their power and influence, the world appeared to be facing a long, drawn out number of years of two brutally antagonistic enemies being a thorn in the side of those who wished for quieter, more ordered gameplay. Now, both groups were on the ropes or expired. This should have created a golden opportunity for the few raiders who did not subscribe to this nonsense, but unfortunately they were either gimmicks or Lone Wolves United (LWU), and as we saw in the events chronicled in our previous digest, LWU made significant strategic blunders too which left it unable to capitalize on the void left by BoM and TCB. They also happened to blunder again.
These months also saw a flurry of Security Council activity where several key defender players, especially from Europeia, were commended. Aegis grew stronger when it admitted The Region That Has No Big Banks (NBB) on May 10, a region that had been steadily growing in influence over the past year but was becoming a significant source of new blood and military prowess on the battlefield. Thanks to the efforts of its foreign minister Faralried (better known as Greg), NBB was punching above its weight and bringing significant numbers to the biggest liberations of the summer; his personal efforts are in fact well-understood to have been one of the single most significant factors in that achievement. And the NBB joining the fold meant that the SC victories were that much more secure. The return of prominent defender Moon, a former prime minister of TSP looking for a new home and finding it initially in Europeia, meant that another heavy-hitting author joined the ranks of the ongoing commendation project and the pan-regional defender military that had started to take shape in the aforementioned battles. Defenders increasingly saw movement from relative newcomer region to gameplay Starlight, which managed to bridge the gap between R/D and WA activity and pull in some old players who hadn't played outside the WA sandbox for years. Their small network created new opportunities for partnership in further widening the defender political net in the game. But this would not come without some additional shifts in power and influence.
Starlight was the biggest member of a relatively new alliance known as the Sunrise Pact. This was conceived as the answer to the Sovereign Seven (S7): they would be an alliance meant to foster new talent in the WA and encourage authors to produce positive resolutions, and stand opposed to efforts to undermine or discourage the WA's continued efforts. They were less than transparent about this aspect of their alliance, however, opting to go for the higher ground whenever possible, even if some of their members could not resist taking shots at the S7. Next to Starlight, though, the most influential partner was Blue Ridge (BR), a small region that until recent months was mostly seen favorably despite its association with the much-maligned Hulldom. A series of unforced errors on the part of their governor/delegate and Hulldom-disciple Adkissa, especially in relation to how BR navigated the post-Outback Incident world, now began to sour people to region. There was a very open assumption that Hulldom's apparent return to this community as well as the NPO meant that BR's questionable choices were a result of his influence, and while no proof of this was discovered, the fact remained that BR and to an extent Starlight entertained continued partnership with the NPO and took continual reputational hits as a result. While gameplay would shift its focus to other matters and ease up on them, especially BR, this would prove to be short-lived as both regions would suffer additional setbacks later in the summer.
June 8 was a bit of a setback for defenders and the region of NBB, when the frontrunner for the prime minister role Faralried lost to anti-gameplay candidate Gine Caruttiva. Almost immediately the mood shifted, and Faralried found himself outside of his successful FA role and on the outs with his own government, which ramped up anti-gameplay and defender rhetoric despite its recent ascension to the heights of the defender faction. NBB would consequently lose its most successful player and bridge to gameplay, as he opted to become involved in TO instead, along with an eager Moon who also branched out to its sister sinker The Plains of Perdition (tPoP). NBB's influence, but also its reliability to defenders, plummeted essentially overnight. When TO completed its first elections on July 12, it would feature its three best acquisitions: Miravana as its Citizens Affairs officer, Lunagard (Moon) as its Communications & the Arts officer, and Faralried as its WA Relations officer. The defender faction was still doing quite well, but political interest and activity was clearly not favoring their regions as much as the new sinkers, which spearheaded much of the activity of this period and continued to absorb the most promising talent, new and old. These sinkers were significant allies to the cause, but they were Independent regions, and increasingly concerned with the S7 and its ambitions. If not for the Outback Incident, the center of activity in 2025 would clearly be the WA, and as the weeks went by that became the focal point more clearly than ever. That was even without the behind the scenes drama that would shake the institution to its very foundation.
Without GenSec, moderators had to rule on the legality of proposal as they had in the bad old days, with predictable controversy and inconsistencies made worse by their complete disregard for years of GenSec precedent. Many prominent WA players, exhausted by battles with the S7 and the shift in disposition toward the WA, had finally had enough with the GenSec issue now adding insult to injury. They left or pulled back their activity. It was precisely the worst time for this given the S7 barreled ahead with its repeals, eventually taking out the landmark compliance and funding resolutions. Moderation's release of a 2026 working paper on July 24 revealed the endgame: no return of GenSec, and the eventual reset of the entire GA, while creating simplified rules and a political office that gameplayers could influence to further get a stranglehold on the WA. The GA now had an expiration date, and those WA regulars who welcomed this as a breath of fresh air would be wise to consider the implications of a world with no resolutions and an active S7 around. In the meantime, the battle for the soul of the WA did not let up even a little, as can be seen by what is happening as this digest goes to print, with two S7 or S7 leader backed resolutions passing by significant margins around 85%: the repeal of the GA's general fund, and a commendation for Onderkelkia. Even avowed pro-GA region Starlight has succumbed to politics, agreeing to abstain on the general fund repeal. But that is probably less outrageous considering its departure from the Sunrise Pact.
The imminent doom of the Sunrise Pact likely would have happened in the background without gameplay's attention or assistance, but two members of Starlight made what could be called a positive unforced error in leaking private communications that related to BR, a screenshot of a private conversation between a citizen of Starlight and Adkissa, and a screenshot of an internal Starlight opsec channel. Evidently things between these regions had not been going well for some time, but Cessarea, one of Starlight's chief councilors, and Starlight citizen Gioni, who was once very involved with BR, felt compelled to make wider gameplay aware of this on July 23 following another discussion where the two regions were criticized together. BR was not amused by the disclosures and evidently voted to end diplomatic relations with them the following day, initiating a closure of their embassy in contravention of their treaty. Starlight followed suit by ending the treaty, and then exiting the Sunrise Pact on July 27. Ominously for those inclined to believe Starlight would stick with its old Sunrise friends and continue a positive path with the NPO, they announced a normalization of relations with tPoP that same day. As for BR, the screenshot leaked by Gioni showed BR's governor indicate a belief that international rabblerousers Quebecshire/Rhaza and Varanius engaged in a "harassment campaign," which he cited as a reason for why he would not take administrative action on another offender because doing so would require Quebec and Vara to be treated the same way. Such an implication was, of course, ludicrous, and very offensive to both players as well as any region involved with BR which had a seemingly higher standard of administrative issues. BR's root admin, Tlomz, attempted to soothe concerns and explain the context of the screenshot, but that explanation and BR's general response to the matter was deemed inadequate and even inappropriate. As a result, TO, The Sasquatch Republic, The League & Concord (TL&C), tPoP, TWP, Europeia, and Commonwealth of Sovereign States all closed their embassies with BR on July 26, with Empire of Great Britain and Vibonia closing theirs on July 29. At the same time as that closure, Vibonia requested an embassy with The League. Starlight obviously closed their own embassy and ended their treaty, but so did BR's other closest ally The Transatlantic Pirates. As the S7's influence only continues to grow, and Starlight works to improve its position and reputation, the balance of power in the WA will continue to shift away from the classic International Federalists (IntFed) who have long dominated it and more toward the National Sovereigntists (NatSov) who finally have the numbers to shape it in their image.
Another end of an era during all this drama came for Prime Minister Gine Caruttiva. During the BR fallout, Gine made the ill-advised choice to publish an announcement to his region on July 25 declaring small-s solidarity with BR and defying the foreign powers that would pressure them over it, despite not a single region reaching out to NBB about their relations with BR. Although he tried to backtrack the following day, the damage was done. Gine had made a string of bad decisions internally in NBB throughout his brief tenure, but the negative gameplay attention was a bridge too far for his people, and on July 28 the majority of his cabinet along with a significant number of prominent players in NBB featuring many of the people who voted him into office initiated a recall motion against him. This was accompanied by a dispatch outlining his offenses with unflattering screenshots to back up the claims. After days of a clear landslide in voting in favor of his removal (36-8 at the time voting was closed), Gine resigned as prime minister, leaving Deputy Prime Minister Okona as the region's prime minister until their next scheduled election in October.
As for the other chamber, The Rejected Realms (TRR) found itself the only significant region opposed to the other resolution still at vote as we speak, the aforementioned commendation of Onderkelkia. Combining everything we have observed over the last few months, it was expected that there would be somewhat of a fight over this one, controversial as the nominee is, but also because of the recent return of TCB's delegate to casting votes, potential revenge on the part of the NPO, and improved relations between Starlight and tPoP that would make them part of a stack. TRR opposes the resolution on the grounds that Onder led the invasion of their region over a decade ago, during which the region was held for a single update. Additionally, he was a leading imperialist and involved in many raids which traditional defenders would be loathe to reward him for. The resolution is somewhat symbolic of the massive shift in defender thinking, the current makeup of significant gameplay alliances, and the influence of the same key players behind the S7, as all spheres essentially united to recognize this player, especially defenders, who appeared to favor recent deeds and events over the more negative ones from the past. A resurgence in attention and collaboration with The Land of Kings and Emperors (LKE) could also bring another valuable partner to the dominant alliance network and S7 coalition. It also shows again how TRR finds itself out of step with modern defenders, which could portend another sun setting in a diplomatic sense. The results of the unexpected delegate election, following the resignation of Delegate Toerana (better known as Bowshot) on August 7, should reveal how TRR interprets the significance of this vote and the health and future of its existing alliances.
April: Sunrise Pact (Albastru, BR, Greater Dienstad, RGBN, Ridgefield, Starlight ) - April 13
May: Modern Gameplay Compact (TWP rejoined) - May 3; Treaty of Darwin (TNP, TO) - May 7; Aegis Accords (NBB joined) - May 10; Covenant of Crest and Current (BR, Transatlantic Pirates) - May 26; Twice as Bright (TWP, TL&C) - May 31
June: Covenant of Tide and Talon (Talonia, Frontier Sea) - June 7; Renaissance Accords (TRR, Lazarus, amendment of NAP to full treaty) - June 10; Bluebell Treaty (BR, The Kodiak Republic) - June 11; Treaty of Fire and Ice (TNP, tPoP) - June 14; Valorant Accords (tPoP, Talonia) - June 18; Treaty of Kyokusei-Sahalie (TO, Talonia) - June 21
July: Genesis Compact (TL&C, tPoP) - July 26
As far as treaties ending in this period, the majority of the action happened in the aftermath of Starlight and BR's backstage drama capturing the world's attention for a few days, but TCB accounted for most of the rest, with The Wellspring (TW) contributing further to the collapse of FOCUS rounding it out.
May: NSLeft (TCB departed); unnamed Treaty of Mutual Non-Aggression (TCB, SLU); assumed bilateral treaty (TCB, TLA) - May 12; FOCUS (TW departed) - May 20
July: Notebook for Eternally Enlightened Explorers (BR, Starlight); Covenant of Crest and Current (BR, Transatlantic Pirates) - July 24; Sunrise Pact (Starlight departed) - July 27
NOTE: This digest has been updated to better explain the nature of the Starlight leaks.
-Pallaith, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Malice Does, in Fact, Die
The Brotherhood of Malice (BoM), as most everyone knows by this point, has sunk into the shadows for the last (?) time, never to spring out and stab with their little knives again. August 1 will be one of those significant days in NS, a turning point that BoM can take some solace in bringing about, but only because it was a response to the terms of their enemies, not their own. These last three years would not be what they were without the failed foreign policy and strategy of BoM. If they sought to change the game, their role in these events certainly did that. If they wanted to determine the nature of that change, and sit atop the world, however, then they unfortunately succeeded in doing the opposite. The fallout of this event is still being felt, and it's likely much more will change in the near future. But this did not happen in a vacuum. While BoM's official statement, as well as a personal note from its leader which immediately followed, takes pains to express how the time was right and they could not continue to burn themselves out, the state of the game is not one where BoM had any prayer of getting a win. Raiderdom in general has had an anemic year, even before the string of massive defender victories that have dominated the first half of this year.Despite what BoM and their allies claimed, the Modern Gameplay Compact (MGC) sanctions really took a toll. They had very limited ability to offer players any variety outside of military action, which was not bringing the kind of numbers it had in their earlier years. And when the opposition was simply too strong to overcome, their lack of cultural identity and reliable partners to expand their gameplay horizons guaranteed their fall. BoM was proud to have challenged and broken the great peace that existed for going on a decade in gameplay, and the game was more unstable and in conflict as a result of their actions and the responses to it. Long-standing alliances, including two with TNP, were ended over disputes related to the conflict and how to handle it. The game appeared to divide into several camps based on their disposition toward that conflict. The Independent sphere remade itself, defenders split over how to handle it. And ultimately even the new multi-lateral partnerships formed in the wake of BoM's arrival were splintered or restructured by the time BoM called it quits. I would normally go into further details on this point, but TNP's statement on the end of this war includes a timeline of the war and its key moments, and says this better than I could replicate in these pages - it is definitely a resource to consult in addition to this digest. Europeia's EBC radio also featured a two hour show on this topic which includes additional perspectives on the progression of the war and TNP's allies' response to it, which also comes highly recommended. We will likely explore this in greater depth at a later time as well. Suffice to say, the game is fundamentally in a different place than it was three years ago, and while the events earlier this year contributed the lion share of why, those events would not have taken the shape they did were it not for the existence of this conflict.
That being said, who is really to blame, or credit, for that? BoM, who simply raided and antagonized everyone they possibly could, or the MGC, which organized, advocated, and ultimately successfully amassed enough votes in the WA or troops on the battlefield to confront BoM and its allies? The facts of the war are that BoM eventually lost in every area, and its enemies continued to grow in strength even as raiders superficially shrugged and attempted to minimize their efforts. Solidarity broke the back of BoM's allies in the leftist sphere, and the doomed peace talks between BoM and TNP revealed that the sanctions remained a great pain point and cause for concern. A type of defending that fits the natural inclinations of Europeia and TNP has become the dominant form, and this approach is represented in the MGC's makeup, which truly shows the modern concept of not only Independence but defending as well. The sanctions laid the groundwork for a successful voting bloc model that has transformed the entirety of the World Assembly (WA) into another front of gameplay, and has altered the norms of the institution forever. BoM may have fired the first shot, but that transformation was the result of the other spheres' machinations and strategy. BoM challenged the world to play by its rules, but the reality of NS as it has now been written was penned by the MGC and its defender allies, and the totality of their decisions, good and bad. The battles they waged in every area of the game, and the rivals and supposed allies they jockeyed with for influence, led to the current alliances and battlefronts that define gameplay today. Fighting over sanctions and their applications, winning the hearts and minds of players in unaligned regions, and wrestling with acceptable forms of defending and even raiding are all the hallmarks of the past three years, and BoM did not have anything of value to contribute to those discussions or debates, except to continue to be the example of what not do to, and to continually inspire and bolster their enemies through their continued taunting and anti-social behavior that was increasingly rejected by everyone else. As villains to confront, they played their role well, and as sources of chaos and discord, they excelled far better than any group in many years. The world changes because of players like this, but it is usually constructed over their metaphorical ashes after the real movers and shakers are finished with them. Their legacy will be debated for a long time, though the conclusions will likely amount to the same thing. And their influence over other raiders will determine how the aftermath plays out, and whether their faction can recover, or if their descendants will find themselves with the same difficulties their imitators will continue to experience in the days ahead.
TCB Emphasizes the Left in NSLeft
One major part of BoM's network will be facing their own reckoning for the foreseeable future. Of course, TNP has been at war with not only BoM, but The Communist Bloc (TCB) as well, and unlike BoM, TCB has not yet demonstrated it knows when to call it quits. The disintegration of TCB's foreign affairs was finally completed when they announced their departure from NSLeft on approximately May 12, an approximate date as they did not formally announce their precise departure anywhere outside of a reference on their RMB. As part of this move, they terminated their relations with stalwart NSLeft regions Social Liberal Union (SLU) and The Leftist Assembly (TLA). The first time most of the game understood not only that this happened, but why, came with an announcement by the MGC on May 29. TLA and the MGC came to an understanding which had been months in the making, going back to December of the previous year, when they were in regular contact with Quebecshire/Rhaza representing the MGC in the negotiations. Kavagrad of TLA and the officially recognized leader of Solidarity's government-in-exile, and prominent SLU member Courelli were two of the most involved representatives who hoped a deal with defenders could not only allow them to regain Solidarity, but also repeal the injunction against TCB and escape the sanctions. Early on in the wake of Solidarity, TCB and raider propaganda attempted to paint the MGC's actions as anti-leftist in nature, despite clear articulation of the purpose of the raid and the continued opposition of TCB's actions. These talks were a mutual recognition of that reality, and the best attempt to remove NSLeft from the R/D conflicts and gameplay implications that came with them, by giving them an out and clearly drawing a line separating them from raider regions, as NSLeft had no interest in the kind of raiding done by BoM and its friends. The talks looked to be going well, until TCB attempted to strongarm them and offer alternative terms. They did not wish to cut their treaties with raiders, or acknowledge that their recent raiding behavior had been in contravention of their ideology and principles. In exchange for dropping their knee jerk opposition to any defender WA proposals, they asked to be absolved of the claims their raiding was corrupted by non-leftist reasons and for the return of Solidarity, while keeping their treaties intact. The MGC naturally did not agree to TCB getting everything they wanted and facing no consequences, so the deal fell apart. In March the NSLeft coalition still hoping to forge a deal, without TCB if necessary, was betrayed by one of its members, who leaked their deliberations to TCB leadership. The participants, leftists in good standing and veteran heroes of NSLeft, were cast out and made to be villains seeking to subvert TCB while engaging in heinous OOC behavior. They were put on sham trial and banned, while their treaties burned and TCB left NSLeft in response.On May 29 the MGC announced, in the wake of TCB's departure, the completion of a deal with the remaining members who continued to try to come to an understanding. TLA pledged to withdraw from partnership with BoM's Raider Unity sphere and acknowledge the delegate tip of TNP as an unjustified attack. The MGC in turn pledged to remove TLA from its sanctions and establish a timeline for de-occupying and returning Solidarity to the recognized representative of its government-in-exile, Kavagrad. Both sides also expressed openness to a more lasting and comprehensive peace agreement, including any other members of NSLeft who may want to join in. With this, the isolated and weakened TCB was the only alternative source of support BoM could count on, and given their primary generator of activity was long gone following a ban, they did not have much to offer in the way of troop numbers anymore. The situation worsened as their delegate nation inched ever-closer to ceasing to exist. Without an active delegate they had no influence in the WA and no way to appoint new officers after each successive election they conducted in his absence. They caught a slight break when the delegate nation began to carry out its duties again in recent weeks, but they continue to hemorrhage nations and endorsements. When the war first began and BoM and TCB seemed to be at the height of their power and influence, the world appeared to be facing a long, drawn out number of years of two brutally antagonistic enemies being a thorn in the side of those who wished for quieter, more ordered gameplay. Now, both groups were on the ropes or expired. This should have created a golden opportunity for the few raiders who did not subscribe to this nonsense, but unfortunately they were either gimmicks or Lone Wolves United (LWU), and as we saw in the events chronicled in our previous digest, LWU made significant strategic blunders too which left it unable to capitalize on the void left by BoM and TCB. They also happened to blunder again.
Blue Shift
It has been said many times over the years that the R/D experience is a pendulum, with one side dominating over the other and taking turns in cycles. Perhaps there is some truth to that. Before BoM arrived on the scene, the defenders clearly had the upper hand, and then seemingly one day it all changed and the raiders had one of the greatest resurgences they had seen in ages. But once again, that has changed. 2025 is clearly a year of defender domination. Raiders had hoped that their retribution against Sophia for succumbing to the sanctions would prove to be a significant battlefield, but when it became a Do Not Defend region, they had to wait out the occupation for their next big opportunity. It would not come, but it is likely this would not have been the case were it not for the baffling moves made by the New Pacific Order (NPO) and LWU in April. It only took a month, but the first major military operation since the events involving The Outback (TO) revealed what could be expected since the major alliance shifts in April. When Carcassonne decided to invade a "wasteland," the region of Lonia Kreptia Llor, they benefited from the assistance of NPO and LWU, who brought the vast majority of the numbers in the operation. This was a particularly pointed decision on the part of both regions, given they had terminated their treaty following the Outback Incident, but were now cooperating so soon after their diplomatic disaster. Anyone who believed the two regions were parting ways was forced to admit this was not the case. Carcassonne soon discovered this operation stopped being about frontiers and wastelands, and their own military goals. It was now an opportunity to prove if NPO and LWU could continue on as they had before, or if the world had changed. It took four updates, but after the defender coalition came close on the third, it looked like they might actually have a serious shot and toppling the occupation. Without The West Pacific (TWP) and with the anger still fresh over what has recently transpired, a historic number of updaters descended on the region, including players who had not jumped in years, who had previously jumped for the other side, or had never jumped before, including a certain security councilor in TNP. In the end they beat the coalition 212-148 at major update on May 6. In case raiders thought this was a one off, they would soon be disappointed. When The Black Hawks (TBH) attempted to raid Dystopian Utopia, they lost the hold after a single update on May 20, roughly 137-105, an operation that featured 166 jumpers. And when Sparkalia tried their own raid of Federation of Sovereign States, they could only gloat after surviving a single update, one that revealed they were doomed by the next, and so it came to pass, when over 100 jumpers took the region 172-130 on June 13.These months also saw a flurry of Security Council activity where several key defender players, especially from Europeia, were commended. Aegis grew stronger when it admitted The Region That Has No Big Banks (NBB) on May 10, a region that had been steadily growing in influence over the past year but was becoming a significant source of new blood and military prowess on the battlefield. Thanks to the efforts of its foreign minister Faralried (better known as Greg), NBB was punching above its weight and bringing significant numbers to the biggest liberations of the summer; his personal efforts are in fact well-understood to have been one of the single most significant factors in that achievement. And the NBB joining the fold meant that the SC victories were that much more secure. The return of prominent defender Moon, a former prime minister of TSP looking for a new home and finding it initially in Europeia, meant that another heavy-hitting author joined the ranks of the ongoing commendation project and the pan-regional defender military that had started to take shape in the aforementioned battles. Defenders increasingly saw movement from relative newcomer region to gameplay Starlight, which managed to bridge the gap between R/D and WA activity and pull in some old players who hadn't played outside the WA sandbox for years. Their small network created new opportunities for partnership in further widening the defender political net in the game. But this would not come without some additional shifts in power and influence.
Starlight was the biggest member of a relatively new alliance known as the Sunrise Pact. This was conceived as the answer to the Sovereign Seven (S7): they would be an alliance meant to foster new talent in the WA and encourage authors to produce positive resolutions, and stand opposed to efforts to undermine or discourage the WA's continued efforts. They were less than transparent about this aspect of their alliance, however, opting to go for the higher ground whenever possible, even if some of their members could not resist taking shots at the S7. Next to Starlight, though, the most influential partner was Blue Ridge (BR), a small region that until recent months was mostly seen favorably despite its association with the much-maligned Hulldom. A series of unforced errors on the part of their governor/delegate and Hulldom-disciple Adkissa, especially in relation to how BR navigated the post-Outback Incident world, now began to sour people to region. There was a very open assumption that Hulldom's apparent return to this community as well as the NPO meant that BR's questionable choices were a result of his influence, and while no proof of this was discovered, the fact remained that BR and to an extent Starlight entertained continued partnership with the NPO and took continual reputational hits as a result. While gameplay would shift its focus to other matters and ease up on them, especially BR, this would prove to be short-lived as both regions would suffer additional setbacks later in the summer.
June 8 was a bit of a setback for defenders and the region of NBB, when the frontrunner for the prime minister role Faralried lost to anti-gameplay candidate Gine Caruttiva. Almost immediately the mood shifted, and Faralried found himself outside of his successful FA role and on the outs with his own government, which ramped up anti-gameplay and defender rhetoric despite its recent ascension to the heights of the defender faction. NBB would consequently lose its most successful player and bridge to gameplay, as he opted to become involved in TO instead, along with an eager Moon who also branched out to its sister sinker The Plains of Perdition (tPoP). NBB's influence, but also its reliability to defenders, plummeted essentially overnight. When TO completed its first elections on July 12, it would feature its three best acquisitions: Miravana as its Citizens Affairs officer, Lunagard (Moon) as its Communications & the Arts officer, and Faralried as its WA Relations officer. The defender faction was still doing quite well, but political interest and activity was clearly not favoring their regions as much as the new sinkers, which spearheaded much of the activity of this period and continued to absorb the most promising talent, new and old. These sinkers were significant allies to the cause, but they were Independent regions, and increasingly concerned with the S7 and its ambitions. If not for the Outback Incident, the center of activity in 2025 would clearly be the WA, and as the weeks went by that became the focal point more clearly than ever. That was even without the behind the scenes drama that would shake the institution to its very foundation.
The Sun Sets
Separatist Peoples was one of the original members of the General Assembly Secretariat (GenSec), the body of players appointed by moderation to rule on the legality of General Assembly (GA) proposals in the WA. He was always primarily involved in the WA despite dabbling in regional government in places such as TNP. He was also a player infrequently seen and often absent on GenSec. Most gameplayers would have no reason to know much about him or what he was up to, same as with the rest of GenSec, even if some of their rulings were starting to get a lot of negative feedback as the WA became more and more a focus of gameplayer attention. But when moderation opted to remove him from GenSec on May 26, he made sure that everyone knew why. Suffice to say, his revelations broke the letter of NS law, and moderators had him declared DOS shortly after the announcement of his removal from GenSec. The outcry that followed was one seldom seen in the game, and ultimately led to the removal of his DOS on May 28. The damage had already been done. Every member of GenSec resigned in protest and the WA would never be the same.Without GenSec, moderators had to rule on the legality of proposal as they had in the bad old days, with predictable controversy and inconsistencies made worse by their complete disregard for years of GenSec precedent. Many prominent WA players, exhausted by battles with the S7 and the shift in disposition toward the WA, had finally had enough with the GenSec issue now adding insult to injury. They left or pulled back their activity. It was precisely the worst time for this given the S7 barreled ahead with its repeals, eventually taking out the landmark compliance and funding resolutions. Moderation's release of a 2026 working paper on July 24 revealed the endgame: no return of GenSec, and the eventual reset of the entire GA, while creating simplified rules and a political office that gameplayers could influence to further get a stranglehold on the WA. The GA now had an expiration date, and those WA regulars who welcomed this as a breath of fresh air would be wise to consider the implications of a world with no resolutions and an active S7 around. In the meantime, the battle for the soul of the WA did not let up even a little, as can be seen by what is happening as this digest goes to print, with two S7 or S7 leader backed resolutions passing by significant margins around 85%: the repeal of the GA's general fund, and a commendation for Onderkelkia. Even avowed pro-GA region Starlight has succumbed to politics, agreeing to abstain on the general fund repeal. But that is probably less outrageous considering its departure from the Sunrise Pact.
The imminent doom of the Sunrise Pact likely would have happened in the background without gameplay's attention or assistance, but two members of Starlight made what could be called a positive unforced error in leaking private communications that related to BR, a screenshot of a private conversation between a citizen of Starlight and Adkissa, and a screenshot of an internal Starlight opsec channel. Evidently things between these regions had not been going well for some time, but Cessarea, one of Starlight's chief councilors, and Starlight citizen Gioni, who was once very involved with BR, felt compelled to make wider gameplay aware of this on July 23 following another discussion where the two regions were criticized together. BR was not amused by the disclosures and evidently voted to end diplomatic relations with them the following day, initiating a closure of their embassy in contravention of their treaty. Starlight followed suit by ending the treaty, and then exiting the Sunrise Pact on July 27. Ominously for those inclined to believe Starlight would stick with its old Sunrise friends and continue a positive path with the NPO, they announced a normalization of relations with tPoP that same day. As for BR, the screenshot leaked by Gioni showed BR's governor indicate a belief that international rabblerousers Quebecshire/Rhaza and Varanius engaged in a "harassment campaign," which he cited as a reason for why he would not take administrative action on another offender because doing so would require Quebec and Vara to be treated the same way. Such an implication was, of course, ludicrous, and very offensive to both players as well as any region involved with BR which had a seemingly higher standard of administrative issues. BR's root admin, Tlomz, attempted to soothe concerns and explain the context of the screenshot, but that explanation and BR's general response to the matter was deemed inadequate and even inappropriate. As a result, TO, The Sasquatch Republic, The League & Concord (TL&C), tPoP, TWP, Europeia, and Commonwealth of Sovereign States all closed their embassies with BR on July 26, with Empire of Great Britain and Vibonia closing theirs on July 29. At the same time as that closure, Vibonia requested an embassy with The League. Starlight obviously closed their own embassy and ended their treaty, but so did BR's other closest ally The Transatlantic Pirates. As the S7's influence only continues to grow, and Starlight works to improve its position and reputation, the balance of power in the WA will continue to shift away from the classic International Federalists (IntFed) who have long dominated it and more toward the National Sovereigntists (NatSov) who finally have the numbers to shape it in their image.
Another end of an era during all this drama came for Prime Minister Gine Caruttiva. During the BR fallout, Gine made the ill-advised choice to publish an announcement to his region on July 25 declaring small-s solidarity with BR and defying the foreign powers that would pressure them over it, despite not a single region reaching out to NBB about their relations with BR. Although he tried to backtrack the following day, the damage was done. Gine had made a string of bad decisions internally in NBB throughout his brief tenure, but the negative gameplay attention was a bridge too far for his people, and on July 28 the majority of his cabinet along with a significant number of prominent players in NBB featuring many of the people who voted him into office initiated a recall motion against him. This was accompanied by a dispatch outlining his offenses with unflattering screenshots to back up the claims. After days of a clear landslide in voting in favor of his removal (36-8 at the time voting was closed), Gine resigned as prime minister, leaving Deputy Prime Minister Okona as the region's prime minister until their next scheduled election in October.
As for the other chamber, The Rejected Realms (TRR) found itself the only significant region opposed to the other resolution still at vote as we speak, the aforementioned commendation of Onderkelkia. Combining everything we have observed over the last few months, it was expected that there would be somewhat of a fight over this one, controversial as the nominee is, but also because of the recent return of TCB's delegate to casting votes, potential revenge on the part of the NPO, and improved relations between Starlight and tPoP that would make them part of a stack. TRR opposes the resolution on the grounds that Onder led the invasion of their region over a decade ago, during which the region was held for a single update. Additionally, he was a leading imperialist and involved in many raids which traditional defenders would be loathe to reward him for. The resolution is somewhat symbolic of the massive shift in defender thinking, the current makeup of significant gameplay alliances, and the influence of the same key players behind the S7, as all spheres essentially united to recognize this player, especially defenders, who appeared to favor recent deeds and events over the more negative ones from the past. A resurgence in attention and collaboration with The Land of Kings and Emperors (LKE) could also bring another valuable partner to the dominant alliance network and S7 coalition. It also shows again how TRR finds itself out of step with modern defenders, which could portend another sun setting in a diplomatic sense. The results of the unexpected delegate election, following the resignation of Delegate Toerana (better known as Bowshot) on August 7, should reveal how TRR interprets the significance of this vote and the health and future of its existing alliances.
Treaty Traffic
Diplomacy was alive and well, and even this relatively short period compared to our last look saw a proliferation of treaties. This period saw the new sinkers continue to establish their diplomatic networks, as well as the continued integration of Talonia into wider gameplay. TWP continued its shift toward the independent/defender bloc that formed in the wake of The Outback incident, including returning to its old friends and joining its new ones in the MGC, and NBB had its greatest success in gameplay yet by joining the major defender regions in Aegis. TNP finished its repairing of relations with TO with the treaty that was nearly finalized prior to the incident. I have also included a reference to an alliance which did not warrant much attention in the last digest, the Sunrise Pact, but which has been a significant part of recent events.April: Sunrise Pact (Albastru, BR, Greater Dienstad, RGBN, Ridgefield, Starlight ) - April 13
May: Modern Gameplay Compact (TWP rejoined) - May 3; Treaty of Darwin (TNP, TO) - May 7; Aegis Accords (NBB joined) - May 10; Covenant of Crest and Current (BR, Transatlantic Pirates) - May 26; Twice as Bright (TWP, TL&C) - May 31
June: Covenant of Tide and Talon (Talonia, Frontier Sea) - June 7; Renaissance Accords (TRR, Lazarus, amendment of NAP to full treaty) - June 10; Bluebell Treaty (BR, The Kodiak Republic) - June 11; Treaty of Fire and Ice (TNP, tPoP) - June 14; Valorant Accords (tPoP, Talonia) - June 18; Treaty of Kyokusei-Sahalie (TO, Talonia) - June 21
July: Genesis Compact (TL&C, tPoP) - July 26
As far as treaties ending in this period, the majority of the action happened in the aftermath of Starlight and BR's backstage drama capturing the world's attention for a few days, but TCB accounted for most of the rest, with The Wellspring (TW) contributing further to the collapse of FOCUS rounding it out.
May: NSLeft (TCB departed); unnamed Treaty of Mutual Non-Aggression (TCB, SLU); assumed bilateral treaty (TCB, TLA) - May 12; FOCUS (TW departed) - May 20
July: Notebook for Eternally Enlightened Explorers (BR, Starlight); Covenant of Crest and Current (BR, Transatlantic Pirates) - July 24; Sunrise Pact (Starlight departed) - July 27
The Molehills
The also-ran events that form the miscellaneous selection of somewhat-significant historical events can be found below.- The defender cause was bolstered by the addition of a new defender region: Lazarus. They contributed some number of troops to some number of military operations and there was much discussion within and without the region and on their thread. (April 21 - but one person is still talking about it even today)
- Master detective Quebecshire/Rhaza unmasked Community's founding member Braza Wain as infamous player Funkadelia. Communitas denied it and then clarified they did not care if this was true anyway; Funkadelia denied it and also decried the persecution involved in calling him out. Lambstone may or may not have been the other Community founder, but he disappeared again and any subsequent search was called off. (May 9)
- The Wellspring declared it was following the example of its former governor and removing themselves from gameplay, and would end any existing treaties should its allies choose to do so. This would also entail formally exiting FOCUS, in case anyone forgot they were still in it. (May 10)
- Communitas declared the fifth or sixth or whatever form of Frontierism: Collaborationist Frontierism. It can be summed up, if you care to squint at it, as Frontierism, except they offer a friendly smile and a wave at the natives during the raid. (May 11)
- The word Frutiger was added to the game's lexicon (no relation to the book). Similar to the expression "the Greg chair," it signals an embarrassing losing endeavor, referring to a successful raid of the region of the same name founded by Catalyse, then of LWU, with the support of BR. It was destroyed by an unnecessarily large coalition consisting of TL&C, tPoP, Europeia, 10,000 Islands (XKI), TWP, TO, and The Grey Wardens (TGW). (May 26-29)
- In response to recent controversies related to moderation and the World Assembly, Europe amended its laws to oppose all resolutions campaigned using TG stamps, unless they specifically exempt the author in question, causing the stamp economy to crash and campaigning to change completely. (May 26)
- The Union of Democratic States (UDS) announced its revival and first election in years. Following the results, the overall sentiment was something like "wait, that guy won?" and "they said what?" (July 9)
- Lair of the Dragon shut down, something many of you are probably discovering for the first time in these pages, and some of you are learning at the same time you became aware such an organization existed. (July 17)
- Cordone transitioned to a frontier, adding itself to the shortlist of future raid targets, and in the process intrepid detective Frailty of Talonia (and member of Quebec's investigative firm) discovered its leader Plampton was an alt for infamous player Slatos. (July 23)
- The South Pacific (TSP) finally concluded their latest delegate election, which went to a second round of former prime minister Henn against Reopen Nominations. After a pitched battle where both candidates were evenly matched, an absentee voter and a last minute vote switch to Henn allowed the veteran politician to win the election by 2 votes. (July 24)
- Talonia and The East Pacific (TEP) announced the formation of a consulate. As a reminder, a consulate is not an embassy and an embassy is not a treaty. Nevertheless, if anyone slights their new friend, TEP may still go to war over it (metaphorically speaking, naturally, as war would involve taking action). (July 26)
NOTE: This digest has been updated to better explain the nature of the Starlight leaks.
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