It was interesting times in the nation which labelled it self The Great Spirit of the Azera. Their technological innovations stood them in increasingly good stead for a position on the world stage. Their large population, united military and ambitious traders all painted an image of a nation on the rise and, truth be told, that is what the majority of the Azera firmly believed was the case. Many saw their rise as inevitable, their prosperity and success guaranteed, that fate was on their side. However, the senior echelons of the Azera knew the reality of the situation, they knew just how vulnerable they really were. Their military was mighty, but no more mighty than some of the other world players. Their economy was solid, but it was far from being an economic super power. Their technological innovations were commendable, but whilst they were strong in some fields other nations had strong technological advances in others. It was a delicate balancing act and it just got a lot more dangerous. 

In the Snake Tooth Peninsular sat the city of Footfall, the capitol of the Azera people and the heart of her financial, military and governmental machine. The victim mentality of the Azera shone through in the cities design, for whilst many of the buildings on the city may have been elegant white structures of bold, clean, beautiful shapes and contours, there was also a definite military presence. The outer walls were tall, sloping and grey, with towers, turrets and gun emplacements to defend from attacks both from the shore and the sea. Indeed, even anti air emplacements were even now being added to the city’s impressive fortifications. Similar defences were repeated near the core of the city, protecting the government district. At the very core of that place sat the famous Black Keep. The Black Keep was an imposing structure, a castle that had first been built when Footfall had been conquered by the Azera and which served as a potent reminder of who the rulers were now. Over the years it had been added to and updated but always in that chilling black rock that almost seemed to shine in the light, either that or more durable modern materials painted black. It had long since stopped being a reminder of who ruled the city, the local population was now almost entirely Azera. But it served as a building of national pride and gave the people something of a sense of identity. 

Deep in the oldest part of the Black Keep, in one of the ancient banquet halls, sat a small cadre of men and women around a table. At the head of the table was First Lord Arasan. His slightly flecked and dark grey skin was complimented by the simple yet elegant black suit like garment that he was wearing. Around him were a number of other senior members of the Azera military and government. The agenda today had several important items and right at the top was the recent inflammatory declaration given by The Theological Empire of Stellata. 
“Their intent was clear!” Stated Lord Marshal Derius, a man of light grey skin and sitting in an immaculate white uniform which was the parade uniform of the Air Corps. “It is a declaration of war. We were declared heretics and sentenced to the fire and the people cheered for our demise.” But the table was not united behind his opinion. A woman of near powder white skin, graceful form and in an elegant silver dress simple shook her head. This was General Amabasador Lady Visar, the most senior diplomat and foreign relations figure. 
“The word war was never mentioned, we were declared heretics and certainly those theocratic zealots would gladly see us burn. But I don’t think they are going to attack us yet. But I agree with Derius in that this affront cannot go unaddressed. To simply let it slide would make us appear weak and leave us open to sterner impositions in the future from many nations. But we must not over react.”

First Lord Arasn steepled his fingers in front of him, deep in thought, nodding very slightly and slowly with a slight hum of contemplation. When he eventually spoke he lowered his fingers and spoke slowly and deliberately. 
“Issue a declaration, condemning the comments made against us and criticising the Theological Empire of Stellata for judging men purely by faith and religion. Say that such an attitude is outdated and makes them unfit to stand amongst the modern civilised nations. We must also back this up with physical action. Issue a trade embargo and a ban on all Theological Empire of Stellata ships passing through out territorial waters.” The ban on passing through Azera waters would hit the Theological Empire of Stellata quite hard. Control of the Grey Isles meant the Azera could lay claim to huge swathes of the vast east coast bay, certainly it’s northern half. Any attempts to sail ships out would have to hug the coast and sail east through the waters of her neighbour country to the east and then either sail south and go all the way around the mainland, or go further east into dangerous open waters and try to sail around Azera territory. Either way it would be a significant and costly detour for trade and hurt the profits of the Theological Empire of Stellata as they would have to wait longer for their ships to get to and from their destinations and either charge higher prices to cover it, risking clients going to cheaper alternatives, or accept a significant down turn in revenue per ship. 

But first Lord Arasan was not done yet. Turning to Derius he added. “We cannot ignore the possibility that the dragons will escalate this further, armed conflict is possible. We will try to avoid it through diplomacy but we must be ready. Mobilise the armed forces and put us in a state of readiness to do battle with the Stellata. I will leave the details to you.” Derius simply gave a nod and the table moved to the next item on the agenda. 

This time Lady Visar took the lead. 
“Sir, with our position in the world and the building military tensions it is more important than ever to have firm allies. Our relationship with the Goblin Confederation is already strong, I have seen to it to remind them of our arrangements and have sent them a consignment of food and trade goods. We must however, turn to other nations.” This was simple common sense and none around the table disagreed with the analysis thus far, the issues was which ones to turn to. Derius had his own strong opinions on the matter. 
“Sir, we must turn to Irodein Empire, their military strength is formidable and we should avoid war with them if possible. I urge you to start fostering diplomatic relations immediately. At first we could merely prevent a war between our two peoples, but eventually we may actually become allies. Imagine what could be achieved with our combined forces.” The Lord Marshal clearly believed what he was saying, his words were edged with a firm conviction and a dream of what the future might be. Lady Visar however, was less optimistic. She sound unsettled when she spoke. 
“Sir the Irodein Empire is closer to what we once were than we like the world to remember. There is allways the looming threat of conflict on their borders and they are seen as using their military to strong arm lesser nations…” She was still in mid flow when the Lord Marshal cut her off. 
“A prudent use of force, this what armies are for. It is best we align our selves with nations that understand this.” But Lady Visar was still deeply concerned.
“Sir, if we do go closer to the Irodein’s then we risk isolating the rest of the world. Perhaps the Steam Coalition would join us but it would be three nations against the majority of the rest of the known world. That is not an association I think we can afford to join.”

This back and further threatened to turn into an endless and fruitless debate so the First Lord simply put a stop to it by silently raising his hand and getting the attention of the whole room. Once silence had prevailed he slowly lowered his hand again and spoke. 
“It is far too early to talk of alliances with the Steam Collation or the Irodeins. But I want both of them neutral at the very least. I want to know they are not going to opportunistically attack us or combine forces to do so. To that end Visar you are to start compiling diplomatic policies toward both of these nations to further that goal and promote calm and tolerant relations. Once those have been established we can debate where to go from there.” This was a sensible first step and though it avoided dealing with the real issue, the real issue was not something that needed to be addressed right now. 

There was only one final matter that needed to be addressed, the soiree in the Steam Coallition. Attendance was a no brainer, it would provide excellent diplomatic opportunities and not to attend would be an exceptionally bad move. The First Lord gave the order for a letter of acceptance to be hastily dispatched to the Steam Coallition, with the thanks of the Great Spirit of the Azera.

The next day, after the wording had been agreed between the First Lord and the Foreign Office, the following declaration was issued to the world. 
“The Great Spirit of Azera has noted the regrettable comments made by the Theological Empire of Stellata. The fact that a nation which calls itself civilised would act to condemn an entire people purely because of their religious beliefs is deeply concerning. Such behaviour belongs to the dark past of our world and should have no place in this enlightened age. Every nation on this earth should be concerned by the Theological Empire of Stellata’s fire brand behaviour. For whilst their ire may have landed on the Great Spirit of the Azera today, it will eventually land on every people in this world until only their way of life remains. We therefore call upon the world to join us in condemnation of the Theological Empire of Stellata and their intolerant beliefs. To safe guard our own people, and the peoples of the world, the Great Spirit of Azera has taken it upon itself to rebuke the Theological Empire of Stellata. From midday today a trade embargo is declared on the Theological Empire of Stellata and we would ask all nations to join us in the prohibition of imports and exports to and from this intolerant and prejudiced society. Furthermore, the waters and airspace of the Great Spirit of Azera are closed to the Theological Empire of Stellata and all her peoples. Any vessel which trespasses into our territory will be subject to forfeiture. These measures will be rescinded should a public retraction and apology be made by the Theological Empire of Stellata, one which recognises the validity of other beliefs including our own and is made to its own people as well as the world, in a manner similar to the way their denunciation was given. We close by once again calling on all peoples of this world to denounce the intolerant beliefs and behaviours of the Theological Empire of Stellata which have no place in the association of civilised nations.”

Meanwhile, even as the statement was being broadcast, military preparations were being made. The Grey Isles had always been the heart of the navy and a military hub but the air landing forces and a great proportion of the light and heavy air force were being redeployed to the isles. The marines were already present and a Home Land Army was being marched to port to be put on ships and sent to the isles under escort. Now the Azera would wait for a reaction, and they would wait for a party.