Noctiluca

Hello Cape verda! Welcome to Noctiluca.

Make sure you check out the Getting Started guide. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with.

You can also join our Discord server here if you want to: https://discord.gg/a3QBuv9U9V

I am voting against the current Security Council vote because I am worried about the region getting raided because it does not have a governor. I think it would be good if it did have a governor.

Welcome The Silver Archipelago and Katovsinn! Selenes Esmen.

Get started with our Getting Started guide and let me know if you have any questions.

You can also join our Discord server here if you want to: https://discord.gg/a3QBuv9U9V

Noctiluca — Eternal Eden Embassy
Late Afternoon

Nobody was entirely certain how the honey badger had arrived.

There was no diplomatic aircraft.

No government convoy.

No delegation from Eternal Eden waiting at the gates.

There was simply, at some point during the afternoon, a honey badger walking through the Noctilucan capital with the absolute confidence of an animal that believed international borders were a problem for other people.

Around its neck hung a small leather diplomatic pouch.

Stamped across the front were the words:

ETERNAL EDEN
OFFICIAL DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE
DO NOT EAT

The bottom corner of the pouch had already been eaten.

The honey badger eventually reached the Eternal Eden embassy.

It did not use the front entrance.

Instead, it disappeared around the side of the building.

Several minutes passed.

There came a metallic scraping noise.

Then a crash.

Then silence.

A short while later, the animal emerged from somewhere it very clearly was not supposed to have been, dragging the diplomatic pouch behind it.

It sat down in front of the embassy.

Inside the pouch was a formal message from Eternal Eden.

Unfortunately, approximately one third of the message was missing.

The surviving portion read:

To our friends and neighbors in Noctiluca,

The people of Eternal Eden send their warmest greetings and look forward to continuing the friendship between our regions.

As a gesture of goodwill, we have sent—

[SECTION MISSING]

—under no circumstances should it be allowed inside the—

[SECTION MISSING]

—and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to stress that previous incidents involving ventilation systems should not—

[SECTION MISSING]

With friendship and respect,

The Government of Eternal Eden

The honey badger stared innocently at the damaged letter.

Then it noticed someone watching.

Very slowly, it placed one paw over the remaining piece of paper.

Behind it, something inside the embassy fell over.

The honey badger looked back at the building.

Then back at the Noctilucan.

It picked up the diplomatic pouch.

And ran.

The Nahwaxanian Council demands a meeting with the Nation of Breaking Badger and hereby extend a hand of alliance. Nahwaxan holds a reasonable share of Acorns, peanuts and Beachnuts and will set an Annual budget of $3b to export and thus achieve a steady alliance and extend their partnership in developmental projects concerning he nation of Breaking Badger

++ TRANSMISSION BEGINS ++

+ THE FEDERATION AND FATHERLAND OF NAHWAXAN ENDURES +

O BROTHERS OF NOCTILUCA, HEAR THE VOICE OF THE FATHERLAND.

Let no trepidation find harbor in thy breast, for the Federation of Nahwaxan stands ETERNAL, unbowed, unbroken, and BURNING BRIGHT with the technology and industry of ten thousand laboratories. Our development is as a lighthouse in the void. Our resolve is as adamantium.

The Fatherland claims not dominion through conquest alone, but through DUTY. Through PRIDE. Through the unceasing labor of its loyal citizenry, who march shoulder to shoulder with thee, O brothers, that the region may be GOVERNED, not merely ruled, in righteousness and order.

Should thy nation stand in need of strength, wisdom, or the easing of thy burdens, look to the stars and know: THE NAHWAXANIAN COUNCIL ANSWERS ALL WHO CALL.

The Emperor blesses no one, for we answer to the Leader alone. But if He did, He would surely approve of our fiscal policy.

THE FATHERLAND PROTECTS. THE FEDERATION PROVIDES. NAHWAXAN ENDURES.

++ THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A NATION THAT ANSWERS ITS ISSUES DAILY IS A NATION THAT NEVER FALLS ++

++ TRANSMISSION ENDS ++

++ BREAKING BADGER EMBASSY — NOCTILUCA ++

Office of the Apex — Diplomatic Annex

Maxine Badger had been enjoying what had, until that moment, been an unusually quiet morning at the Breaking Badger embassy.

Then the Nahwaxanian transmission began.

She listened without interruption.

THE FATHERLAND PROTECTS.

Max took a drink.

THE FEDERATION PROVIDES.

One eyebrow rose.

NAHWAXAN ENDURES.

By the time the transmission reached the part about ten thousand laboratories and adamantium resolve, several members of the diplomatic staff had stopped pretending they weren't listening.

Then came the final declaration:

A NATION THAT ANSWERS ITS ISSUES DAILY IS A NATION THAT NEVER FALLS.

Silence returned to the embassy.

Max slowly lowered her cup.

MAX: “Well.”

The Foreign Minister waited.

MAX: “That explains the word demands.”

Someone at the far end of the room coughed suspiciously into a fist.

MAX: “I thought they were threatening us. Apparently that's just how Nahwaxan says good morning.”

She looked toward the communications staff.

MAX: “Send them an answer. Public channel.”

++ RESPONSE TO THE FEDERATION OF NAHWAXAN ++

To the Council and people of NAHWAXAN,

Breaking Badger has received your transmission.

All of it.

Very clearly.

Having now experienced Nahwaxanian diplomacy at full volume, I believe I owe your Council a small correction.

When you first demanded a meeting with Breaking Badger, several members of my government briefly wondered whether we were being invited to negotiate or being informed of our impending invasion.

I now understand that this is apparently just how Nahwaxan says hello.

Consider the misunderstanding resolved.

More importantly, consider the hand you extended accepted.

Your proposed $3 billion in annual exports, developmental cooperation, and broader alliance deserve serious discussion. Breaking Badger is prepared to talk about your acorns, peanuts, beechnuts, development proposals, and whatever Nahwaxan would seek from us in return.

That's how worthwhile partnerships work.

You bring something to our table.

We bring something to yours.

Preferably neither side flips the table over while shouting about the eternal glory of the Fatherland.

For the record, however:

“Our development is as a lighthouse in the void.”

That's a damn good line.

Keep that one.

The Nahwaxanian Council is welcome to send representatives to the Breaking Badger embassy here in Noctiluca, or arrangements can be made for a formal delegation to visit Breaking Badger.

Bring your trade proposals.

Bring your development proposals.

Bring your ideas for this alliance.

We'll bring ours.

The Federation may endure.

The Fatherland may provide.

Breaking Badger will keep doing what Breaking Badger does.

Maxine “Max” Badger
Apex of the Rogue Nation of Breaking Badger

First in authority. First in defense. First to answer.

Max looked over the finished response.

MAX: “Good. Send it.”

The communications officer didn't answer.

Max looked up.

He was staring beneath the conference table.

A faint tearing sound came from underneath it.

Max closed her eyes.

MAX: “Goddammit.”

The Foreign Minister bent down and looked beneath the table.

The embassy's honey badger was lying comfortably on the carpet with the printed Nahwaxanian transmission pinned between its front paws.

A substantial portion of the lower corner was already missing.

FOREIGN MINISTER: “Should I retrieve it?”

Another piece disappeared.

MAX: “No.”

She picked up her coffee.

MAX: “Apparently the Fatherland provides breakfast.”

++ BREAKING BADGER EMBASSY TRANSMISSION ENDS ++

++NAHWAXAN EMBASSY - NOCTILUCA ++
Office of the Annex- Diplomatic Unit
++ TRANSMISSION BEGINS ++
The Council chamber, deep in the Night. The preachers have been arguing about whether foreign tea is heresy. Jane sits with his feet on the war table, reading Maxine Badger's reply, and smiling like a man who has already won something.
++ RESPONSE TO THE APEX OF BREAKING BADGER ++
TO THE APEX OF THE ROGUE NATION OF BREAKING BADGER, FIRST IN AUTHORITY, FIRST IN DEFENSE, FIRST TO ANSWER,

THE COUNCIL RECEIVED THY WORDS
Hear now that the misunderstanding is buried deeper than the acorns we propose to sell thee. Our greetings at full volume are the only greeting Nahwaxan owns. Thou hast answered them without flinching, and the Council logs a rare and precious finding: a neighbor who mistakes our hello for an invasion and chooses to trade with us anyway. Such neighbors are rarer than honest treasurers. We keep both.
ON THE TABLE: it stands unflipped. The Council notes that a table requires two sides, and that thou hast assigned us ours with flattering efficiency. Agreed. Nahwaxan brings the acorns, the peanuts, the beechnuts, and the dense tallow candles, which remain a gift. Breaking Badger brings honey, resolve, and the discipline of a nation whose leader writes better diplomacy at breakfast than most governments manage by noon.
ON THE LIGHTHOUSE: thou hast commanded us to keep the line. The Fatherland obeys exactly one foreign directive per century. Consider this the one. The lighthouse burns. The badger hunts. And the ships that pass between them shall carry cargo, not cannon fire.
ON THE VISIT: Our delegation departs for BREAKING BADGER bearing proposals, ledgers, and the reinforced document case, which we have now upgraded to adamantium in thy beast's honor. Tell the honey badger the corner it ate was recognized as the first ratified clause of the accord. All future drafts shall include a corner specifically printed for consumption. Diplomacy, Apex, is the art of feeding the other side's nature.
May the Federation endure. May the Fatherland provide. May Breaking Badger keep doing what it does, for we have decided it does it well
SIGNED UNDER THE SEAL OF THE ETERNAL FATHERLAND,
THE COUNCIL OF NAHWAXAN
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jane hands the final page to the Keeper of Transmissions. On the far side of the chamber, one of the Golden Lions of the Reserve, who wanders the council halls by ancient privilege and absolutely no safety regulation, pads over, takes the transmission calmly from the tray, and begins to chew.

The preachers freeze. The Treasurer makes a small sound. Jane does not move. He watches the lion finish the lower half of the page, then picks up his tea.

JANE: Ahh. Apparently golden lions have an appetite for petty promises.

He turns back to the window.

JANE: Send the surviving half. It says everything that matters. And tell the kitchen we are printing the next draft on something the lion dislikes. Spinach, perhaps. Nobody respects a treaty on spinach.
++ THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A TREATY IS ONLY AS STRONG AS THE CORNER THAT SURVIVES THE MASCOT ++
++ TRANSMISSION ENDS ++

**++ BREAKING BADGER EMBASSY — NOCTILUCA ++**
*Office of the Apex — Diplomatic Annex*

The Nahwaxanian transmission had survived long enough to reach Maxine Badger's desk.

Mostly.

Max read the surviving document once, then looked toward the Foreign Minister.

**MAX:** “They made the case out of adamantium?”

**FOREIGN MINISTER:** “Apparently.”

**MAX:** “Because of the honey badger?”

**FOREIGN MINISTER:** “Apparently.”

Max considered this.

**MAX:** “I don't know whether that's diplomacy or an engineering challenge.”

She continued reading.

The Foreign Minister waited.

**MAX:** “And now their lion is eating diplomatic correspondence.”

**FOREIGN MINISTER:** “There appears to be some cultural convergence.”

**MAX:** “Of course there is.”

She reached the announcement concerning the departing delegation.

The humor faded just enough for business.

**MAX:** “All right. Send this.”

**++ RESPONSE TO THE FEDERATION OF NAHWAXAN ++**

To the Council of NAHWAXAN,

Your delegation will be received.

There has, however, been one development in Breaking Badger since our last transmission that your representatives should probably know before somebody discovers we've changed the destination while they're halfway here.

Breaking Badger has formally designated its national capital.

**The City of Ratel.**

Your delegation will therefore have the distinction of being among the first foreign delegations formally received there.

Bring the proposals.

Bring the ledgers.

Bring the trade figures.

Bring whatever vision the Council has for cooperation between our nations.

Breaking Badger will have its own waiting.

The proposed exchange of Nahwaxanian acorns, peanuts, beechnuts, tallow candles, and other goods will be on the table, as will what Breaking Badger can provide in return. Developmental cooperation and the larger question of what an alliance between our nations should actually contain will be discussed as well.

As for the reinforced document case:

Adamantium may have been excessive.

Then again, you've met our diplomatic service.

A precaution is understandable.

The Council should also be advised that we will *not* be intentionally providing treaty corners for consumption.

If either nation's wildlife eats the final agreement, we're still counting it as signed.

Safe travels to your delegation.

Ratel will be ready to receive you.

**Maxine “Max” Badger**
Apex of the Rogue Nation of Breaking Badger

*First in authority.
First in defense.
First to answer.*

Max looked over the response.

**MAX:** “Send it.”

The Foreign Minister collected the document.

**FOREIGN MINISTER:** “And the honey badger?”

Max glanced beneath the conference table.

Nothing.

She looked toward the open doorway.

Still nothing.

Max's eyes narrowed.

**MAX:** “Where is he?”

Something metallic crashed somewhere deeper inside the embassy.

Silence.

Max stared toward the hallway.

**MAX:** “Don't answer that.”

**++ BREAKING BADGER EMBASSY TRANSMISSION ENDS ++**