A dispatch from the State

Get well soon,First Lady.

The angels have been briefed. The flowers are on their way. The State is holding — but it isn't the same without you.

scroll, when you feel like it

Three angels, dispatched.

Sent with fairy dust and strict instructions: stay by her bed, keep the machines polite, and sprinkle until she feels better.

Tap them. They like being useful.

They don't get tired. Tap as often as you like.

Flowers, by presidential order.

Executive action. No vote required, no opposition entertained. The first one is already falling.

Careful — the room fills up.

From the Office of the President
To: The First Lady
Eyes only · Season briefing
1

I wanted a quiet fortnight.

End of season. Nothing on the calendar. I had genuinely convinced myself we were looking at two weeks of zero diplomacy — no negotiating, no messages at odd hours, no one asking the President for a decision.

I was, in my own mind, retired.

2

Then they announced Volcano Wars.

Ten days. Every state thrown at a live volcano for control of the energy. So much for retirement — retirement lasted about as long as it took to read the announcement.

Volcano War · 10 days

Paired states, one hour of battle, and a prize pool the Presidents divide afterwards. Miss the diplomacy and you fight for nothing.

Day 1
Publicity. Groupings revealed — attackers, defenders, and everyone left ungrouped.
Day 2
Comms. Presidents start talking. This is where my quiet fortnight died.
Day 3–4
Invitations. One at a time — and that detail cost us, see overleaf.
Day 5
Battle prep. Where we are nowwe are here
Day 6
The battle. One hour, 12:00 Apocalypse Time. That's the whole war.
Day 7–8
Presidential distribution. I divide the pool. Diplomatically.
Day 9–10
Alliance distribution. R4s and R5s hand it down. Then, finally, rest.
3

The s732 affair.

s732 approached us first. Flattering, actually — we didn't have to go looking. I nominated Abanon to represent us and went to deal with everything else.

Abanon got busy. Real life, as it does. And a state can only hold one invitation open at a time — so while our side went quiet, s732 did the sensible thing and married someone else.

Lost a partner to silence. Not to a better offer, not to a stronger state. To nobody answering. I'd have handled it faster if my First Lady had been on comms.

4

We ride with s731.

Recovered. We're paired with s731, the camp is set, and the multiplier is secured — which is the part that actually matters when the pool gets divided.

Preparations are underway. Everyone is sharpening something. It's all very dramatic and I'd enjoy it more if you were here to be unimpressed by it.

And then, the bounty vote.

Someone opened a vote to punish our own people for plundering bounty inside our state. Their case: anyone still stealing at home deserves it.

I'm against it, and I'll stay against it. Yes, plundering at home weakens us — but you fix that by explaining it, not by hunting your own citizens. Start punishing your own and you don't get a stronger state; you get a police state with worse morale and fewer players.

"We are a state, not a police force. I'd rather lose a little bounty than everyone's goodwill."
5

What the State is actually missing.

The volcano I can handle. Diplomacy I can handle, apparently even when I'd rather not. The vote I'll win or lose on the argument.

What I can't do anything about is the empty chair. Get well, come back, and take your seat. The State can wait. Take your time and let them look after you.

— Kap
President

Rest now, First Lady.

The angels have their instructions. The flowers keep coming. Nothing here needs you today — it just misses you.

tap as many times as you like
— and hurry back, the volcano won't wait forever