| Monthly Newspaper | Harvestday, 02.05.1531 |
De Volkskrant
| No. 4 | HIGHLAND FREESTATE | National News |
The re-election of Dominika van Gravendrecht and her plans
Dominika van Gravendrecht got recently re-elected as grand pensionary. In this article you’re going to read about her plans as our grand pensionary. She has a lot of ideas she’d love to share with us. There is a lot to talk about so let’s get started.
Trade & employment
One of the first goals she like to work on is giving every citizen an opportunity to be trained in a specific profession. These trainings would be provided with the cooperation of the School. With these training she wants to prepare the citizens for the work field.
Another plan of hers it to build relationships between Raevendrecht and other nations. The relations with the employees of our very own North-Eden trading company. In this way we can make optimal use of the company.
Architectural
There are also some plans in the architecture section. By example expanding the village for farming. Another things on the list are a courtroom and a bath house and a casino.
Insurance & medicine
Dominika is planning to offer everyone free insurance and healthcare. This means that if anything happens to one of the citizens and it is expensive, the government covers for it. Another plan is to offer medical training for people who’d like to help the medic.
Military
For the military the plans are providing the citizens of self defence lessons. These lessons will help the citizens to learn how to protect themselves in case of danger or emergency. She also wants to make little army camps in the woods. It would be more practical for the army to train there.
Culture
She also wants to make religion important in out nation. The church will become an individual institute without the influence of the government. The next idea is a community day. On this day the citizens will get information about how they can start a job or open a business. And then there is the plan for a harvest festival. During this event we celebrate the success of harvesting the crops.
Finances
An important one is that the nation remains tax-free. The tax system got replaced by a donating system. The people who do have spare money to donate can donate. The plan is to let businesses pay taxes. This would be a little part of their income.
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A day in the life of a … farmer
In this little series of articles we’re following one of our working citizens for a day. Today we follow Jinx van der Bijlkrijger-Sillico, our farmer for the day. She will tell us what she does in a day.
When the first sun rays shine through the window I wake up. The first thing I do after I wake up is getting ready for the day and eat breakfast. After breakfast I milk the cows and collect eggs from the chicken. When I am finished with this I go outside for a little walk to see what needs to be done.
During this walk I check if the animals need food or water and if their stables need to be cleaned. After I checked the animals I go to my crops to see if they’re ready to be harvested. Usually this is the case.
Then it’s time to harvest the crops. This takes a while since there are quite a lot of crops. When I am done I take some of the carrots, potatoes, hay and seeds to feed the animals. I also refresh their water and clean their stable.
After this I take care of the crops. First I start with harvesting the carrots, potatoes and corn. Then I go to the wheat and harvest it. Last on the list are the pumpkins. These are very heavy and need to be brought to the storage one by one.
In the evening I milk the cows again and make another walk over the farm. If there isn’t anything special going on I go back to my house to have dinner. Then I have a little bit of time to relax before it’s time to go to sleep.
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The Free Market Office will provide citizens with the information and guidance needed to make the most of the opportunity. This includes providing advice on the practicalities of setting up a stall or shop, as well as access to resources that can help them make their business a success. Additionally, the office will help to coordinate and oversee the running of the markets and shops
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The Elections of 1531
All citizens were gathered in the Estates General for the first great open election in the Republic of Raevendrecht. After Baroness Dominika van Gravendrecht first served her first term as Grand Pensionary in the preliminary government set up in 1529 to settle the North and expand the young republic. Van Gravendrecht decided to stand for re-election, and was rewarded for her previous service with a comfortable majority in the Estates General. The opposition led by Eladrijn Goudenveld sadly came to an end with his untimely suicide and he will be remembered as an honourable statesmen. The next election will be in two years. (OOC: the week of May 15th)
The Results:
ELECTION RESULTS:
54,5% voted in Favour
36,4% voted to abstain
9,1% voted against
The Battle of Rivierenland
Though many citizens participated in this battle, history must remember the onslaught of the trolls and the brave men and women in the army of the North who attempted to rid these lands. Though it was a hard fought battle, and a Pyrrhic victory for the Groenhuiden, the forces of the Republic still stand ready to relinquish this threat.
Raevendrecht 1531
The trolls' ruthless quest to raid and pillage the countryside of the north has the people of the Republic at war with yet another threat. The Mobilization of armies by the Republic and its allies proved no deterrent as the trolls moved eastwards to the fertile grounds of New-Wakkerdam. A vicious campaign of raids and much bloodshed followed suit as by the Stadtholders decree all citizens were mobilized in the army. The Grand Army of the Republic might not be Eden’s eldest fighting force, though it still holds a number of veterans from both Hadrian Civil Wars and the many battles against the Ghouls. The Republic consolidated their forces within Raevendrecht and welcomed many allies, such as the honorable Dain Zakarian who himself led a sizable contingent of troops to aid the Republic in the fight to come. As massive troll raids commenced over the republic the scourged earth leaves nothing behind for the trolls to feast on. The Grand Army refuses to retreat and a counter offensive of blood and iron is launched to a force that now stretches from the banks of the River Venen to the abandoned hold of Dar-Ach-Denur. Against impossible odds, hundreds come forward to answer the call of their country, their families, their lives.
[15:38]
In the cold northern morning the army marched to give battle against the trolls who were held up in the old Attian Watchtower. During the waning hours of vicious combat the army of the Republic stood its ground against endless waves of trolls that emitted from the old ruin. The army slayed shamans, elite warriors and an innumerable amount of trolls holding their ground at the banks of the River Venen. Though victory seemed near, the trolls threw all their reserve warriors against the Republic’s shieldwall which was eventually too much to bear. The trolls held the field that day, but the orange and blue banner of the Republic still waves proud above New-Wakkerdam. As Stadtholder I promise you that all bloodshed was not in vain and that we will rid these lands of the monsters that stand in the way of our young republic. We shall never give up on securing our lands and the trolls will be eradicated from the face of Eden. They are weakened, and can not replenish their numbers, I ask every able bodied citizen to come forward and answer the call once again to destroy the tribe that inhabits the Rivierenland.
The army uniform
| As a member of the grand armor it’s important to wear an uniform that protects the soldier and is comfortable to wear. Another important thing is that it’s very easy to move in to make sure the soldiers can do their job well. In the uniform of our army we wear the Raevendrecht colors, blue and orange, proudly. You can find them as a fine detail in the sleeves and bottoms. The armor is made out of a strong gray steel made to protect covering the underarms, chest, legs and back. | One of the things that makes this uniform very special is the Barrett. The top part of the Barrett is brown while the bottom part is a nice orange with dark red. This nice headpiece finished the complete look perfectly | 
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The School of Raevendrecht
The academy has been making a monthly philosophy talk, discussing the most basic aspects of our world. These talks are the example of what the academy is: open discussion, sharing of knowledge and enlightenment.
Our collection of books and writings keeps expanding to maintain our position as the biggest library in all of Eden and we are always interested in buying and acquiring any written works of any background or topic.
Many other events are planned for the coming months: the Stadtholder Silas van Leuveren will soon do a class on politics and management with a variety of methods to promote one's own political views among people, negotiation with others, making laws, and exercising internal and external force.
The known bard Elduin Lafarallin de Sylvanus will do a coming talk on the topic: musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance and how it extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, psychology and magic.
The secret of the stars, their position and composition will be explained by Kat van der Bijlkrijger in a soon to come “Stargazing Night” where we will use telescopes to look at the wonders the nocturnal sky offers and what it can teach us.
The republic of Raevendrecht in collaboration with the Free Academy it is also planning a “Labor Show Day” where many workers of the city like the baker Azalion Greenbottle or the doctor Cornelius van der Vos will explain their professions and invite new people to learn about them and maybe get a future in that working sector. If you are interested in showing your skills for a living we invite you to talk with us to prepare everything.
Advertisement Join the Grand Army! Our Grand Army is in dire need for people to join them. 
Food and drinks AVG'tje An absolutely delicious meal prepared here, at De Verguelden Kruijk. AVG'tje is a typical dish here in Raevendrecht combining potatoes (aardappel), vegetables (groente) like peas, carrots, et cetera and meat or vlees. This dish is perfect so come take a bite! | 
Raevendrecht's Rood Wine harvested from Dark Grapes in New Wakkerdam. Nights with a glass of Red wine and some AVG'tje can do just as good as Stampot and other wines! |