Vice-Admiral
Sir Baldur Norling,
|
4 November: At 9:00 a.m. Afrazure time, His Altlandic Majesty George II Victor strode down the gangplank of the Royal Yacht Jergenstrost to officially begin his tour of inspection in the Protectorate of Afrazure Altlandique. After a formal welcome from his Governor General, Sir Genthar Jengling, the King was driven through the streets of Medhinou in an open carriage to the capital's Imperial Stadium, where he shook hands with the Afrazurean National Soccer Team and their coaches, and awarded them special commemorative medals struck for the occasion. Thereafter, mounting a platform before a crowd of more than 50,000 patriotic Afrazurean soccer fans, his Majesty acknowledged their plaudits in a brief address. (See attached picture.) Speaking in Phenixian, he said, in part:
The King's address was greeted by the exuberant multitude with thunderous applause and spontaneous singing and dancing in the native tradition. His Majesty departed the stadium shortly after 10:30 a. m. and proceeded to the next stop on his schedule, an inspection of the Altlandic military headquarters just outside the city limits of Medhinou, where he will present standards to the newly arrived regiments of the Royal Guards and the Altlandic Army. |
November 5: His Majesty began his tour ofinspection of the Altlandic forces serving in the Protectorate of Afrazure Altlandique by reviewing the troops at the military headquarters at Fort Morne and presenting the recently arrived regiments, all of which were at least represented among the troops gathered for review, with newly sewn battle standards. More than half of the reinforcements from the Royal Army had arrived in the Protectorate and were rapidly being deployed in defensive positions near the northwestern border, freeing the guards regiments which had manned these defenses until now to augment the Altlandic presence in other parts of Afrazure.
In his speech to the troops, His Majesty announced that air support had been offered by a friendly nation in the event that it should be needed [Ed. note, 2005: It can now be revealed that this "friendly nation" was Whitlam. Altland did not itself, at that time, have an air force.], and he expressed his fervent hope that hostilities would never, in fact, break out. He also expressed his satisfaction at the readiness of the troops and his confidence that they would carry out their duties in protecting the otherwise defenseless people of Afrazure from any foreign interference in their internal affairs.
That morning the King continued his tour by setting off on horseback with a small contingent of mounted Guards to inspect the Altlandic garrison near Mediolanou in the Khalilienne Administrative District.
2
November 6: His Majesty, accompanied by a small troupe of the Royal Horse Guards, continued his progress toward the military camp at Mediolanou, where he conducted an inspection at around 10:00 a.m. In mid-afternoon, the King took the old trading road east to the outpost of Fort Jordi in Afrazure Orientale, there to participate in a ceremonial review of the troops and to consult with the Military Prefect of the Orientale Administrative District.
While the King's mode of travel precluded instantaneous communication with him, dispatches were delivered to him thrice a day (mid-morning, mid-afternoon, late evening) by cavalry couriers.
| November 8: Fort Jordi, administrative
center of Afrazure Orientale, was the scene of the largest review
of troops thusfar held during the current royal tour of the Protectorate.
Accompanied by his escort of Horse Guards in full dress uniform,
the King rode along the ranks of more than 2,000 newly arrived
soldiers, as well as those of the 500 veteran Guards who had
been manning this desert outpost since July. Immediately after the review, the King met with dignitaries from the nomadic tribes who range this part of the Afrazurean desert and reassured them that Altland would not desert its commitment to maintaining the stability and territorial integrity of their country. The arrival of Altlandic troops in the area had resulted in the suppression of the wide-spread banditry which had until then suppressed the trade on which these tribes had depended for their livelihood, and His Majesty received the thanks and pledges of loyalty which the benefits of Altlandic rule have merited. Meanwhile, sources at Government House in Medhinou announced that recent developments on the international scene had given reason to modify the King's planned itinerary to keep him within easy travelling distance of Medhinou during the following several days. Accordingly, His Majesty did not proceed next, as originally scheduled, to Gamali and thence to Fort Jentari, the administrative center of Afrazure Centrale, but rather turned northward, via Palmyrou and Boreou to the river-bank city of Potamou in the heart of Afrzure Fleuviale, the province which has the largest concentration of Altlandic forces. |
|
November 10: At the stroke of midnight, inside
the huge windowless inner throne room of Potamou's Palace of
the Great Elephant, His Altlandic Majesty, George II Victor,
was hailed by more than two dozen northern Afrazurean chieftains
as the 26th "Obango" or supreme chief of the Elephant
River tribes. The semi-secret "enstoolment" ceremonies,
whose origin lies buried in nearly a thousand years of native
tradition and had never before been photographed, lasted more
than three hours. His Majesty was the only non-Afrazurean present.
When he emerged from the throne room shortly after 2:00 a.m.,
the King seemed tired but pleased and immediately retired to
the chamber which had been prepared for him in another part of
the sprawling mud-brick palace.
|
5
November 12: Early in the day His Altlandic Majesty arrived in northern Afrazure Fleuviale to inspect the forward positions of the recently arrived Altlandic Army units along the border with the former Yellow Melania, whose provisional government, under the name of Allocoa, was demanding that negotiations of an unspecified nature be held about the future status of Afrazure Altlandique. Accompanied by a field officer and peering toward the border with binoculars, the King rode along a nearly twenty-mile stretch of new trenches and gun implacements.
In the evening, the King traveled on to Elephanou, where he was to be the central figure in this year's Elephant Festival. Observers expressed amazement at the 56-year-old monarch's high level of energy and stamina in keeping to a grueling schedule on this trip. Most attributed it to his determination that in this, the first crisis since his restoration in which the mettle of his soldiers might be tested, he wished to set an example of unyielding determination to carry out his duties and to maintain the commitment of Altland to the protection of the people and territorial integrity of Afrazure.
6
November 12: A high point was reached in the visit of His Altlandic Majesty to the Protectorate of Afrazure as thousands filled the streets of Elephanou, the great northern city of Fleuviale district to celebrate the annual Elephant Festival and to acclaim their newly-installed Obango.
Riding in a silver-plated dais atop the ancient albino elephant whose parading through the streets to the river for a ceremonial bath is the centerpiece of the traditional event, His Majesty warmly acknowledged the plaudits of the crowd and accepted the public obeissance of the head-men of the province (see foreground of the pictures to the left and right, above).
Wishing not to intrude upon the traditional character of the festival, His Majesty declined to give a public speech on this occasion. Later, however, at a dinner given in his honor at the Hotel Imperial in the heart of the city by the newly-organized Greater Elephanou Chamber of Commerce, the King expressed his satisfaction that since the beginning of the Altlandic Protectorate local commerce had begun to recover and that young entrepreneurs, emboldened by the peace and stability they foresaw under Altlandic rule, had started more than fifty new enterprises during the previous four months. (Before the descent of the Mercantile Empire of
Africablue into near anarchy, the city of Elephanou had rivaled Medhinou itself as a center of commerce.)
At the close of his address, His Majesty conveyed the greetings of the city of Sigesburgh, northernmost great city of Altland, and conveyed to the President of the Chamber documents from the Lord Mayor of Sigesburgh granting him the Freedom of that City. The Chamber, for its part, presented the King with analogous tokens to be transmitted to the Lord Mayor. Elephanou and the capital of the Duchy of Norrik thereby initiated their relationship as "sister cities."The next morning His Majesty returned to Medhinou for rest and consultations with the Governor General and did not appear again in public before his departure on November 17, the remainder of the King's projected visit to the Protectorate having been altered to allow his overseas tour to be extended to Phenixia and Port Marie before the state visit to Altland of Christiana's King Edward II and the traditional Yuletide festivities required His Majesty's presence in Midlburgh.
