International Council of Voldrania

The International Council of Voldrania, often simply referred to as "The Council" or the "ICV", is an organization designed to serve as an international forum and common meeting ground for all of the major nations of the world. While not always taken seriously or fully respected by the international community, the Council all but unopposed when it comes to one of its chief purposes: defining international borders.
The grounds the Council occupies has always been considered to be neutral, despite a brief period of time when it was located in central Equis upon its original founding. In modern times, the Council sits upon a small series of islands nested between the continents of Llysia, Albonesia, and Rogash.
==HISTORY==
===Voldrania===
The idea for the Council first came about in 39 AE, after it became clear that the eight major governments of Voldrania were growing quicker than expected, and clashing swords more than most hoped. After a year of negotiations, Akarvian President Gordon Hull, Equivian President Charles Equis, Yore President Alfred Yoren, Tripolian President Kyle Wiz, Heran Prime Minister Kathleen Ghern, Fhian leader Tim Bulls, Fallnavorian Queen Samantha Navor, and Scauv leader Scavor Cavis signed the treaty that formally inducted each of the eight growing nations into the first "International Council of Voldrania".
The Council primarily served the purpose of defining the borders of the eight rapidly growing nations, but in 43 AE, after Akarv had spent a year at war with Fhia, the Akarvian Senate joined forced with the ICV to oust and banish then-president Alan Fruith, leaving him forever barred from living within any of the Council's member states. Despite the popularity of this move by the Council in the moment, it quickly became controversial. Should the Council have that kind of power, many people asked. This debate went on for years until the Councils first major policy overhaul in 49 AE, which limited the Council to a peacekeeping role, maintaining its previous function as an international forum.
Unfortunately, the Council's life for the next decade was uneventful, outside of its abuse. In 54 AE Eirros was added to the Council, and in 55 AE Mynyyd received the same honor. While both likely would have received membership eventually anyway, they were fast tracked by the Akarvian and Fallnavorian powerhouses, who were both trying to increase their influence over the world. Unfortunately, Fallnavor's schemes to accomplish this were a fair bit more malicious, and with their allies, including Mynyyd, they secretly plotted an emergency Council vote behind Akarv's back that would see them removed from the Council, thus revoking all Council rights and protections in the eyes of the international community. This plot unraveled after Yoren, a former Fallnavorian ally, spilled the proverbial beans. Faith in the Council was rocked after this, and it was only really used again in Voldrania in 59 AE when former Akarvian colony Tedre was admitted.
===New Voldrania===
After the fall of Voldrania only five of the eleven Council nations managed to survive to journey to New Voldrania: Akarv, Equis, Scavoran, Tripoly, and Tedre. When they did arrive they discovered that New Voldrania already had a long history and several nations of its own, though they were significantly less organized than the Voldranians had been. After settling relatively untouched lands in the west, the Voldranians reformed the Council and invited the native nations to join in an effort to both form and maintain relations with them in the early phases of rebuilding. Haisonuuna, Krolesk, and Ralkeis were the only ones to immediately respond to the request, though Ralkeis reluctantly. The arrival of the Voldranians actually ended up inspiring the Llysian tribes to organize into a former nation of their own, and thus Llysos was born in 62 AE, followed shortly by Altenahnenwalde. Both joined the new Council alongside Varrenholm, an amalgamation of a nation made up from various Voldranian survivors, primarily from Mynyyd.
Unfortunately, the Council's days of being abused were not quite over yet. Tripoly and Tedre, now going by Jados and Baratan, respectively, still held a grudge towards Akarv over the Ghernian War, which they were the definitive losers of. Together with Scavoran, who they had recently formed a more friendly relationship with, and the new nation Varrenholm they formed an alliance known as "The Western Accord". The ultimate goal of the Western Accord was to promote the interests of the nations within, and that included creating a voting bloc within the Council so that they could control its decisions. Outraged, Akarv retaliated appropriately by forming its own alliance to counter the Western Accord. Together with Krolesk, Llysos, and eventually Aea, the "EVAIN" alliance was formed. The feud between these two alliances nearly boiled over to war several times, and all but brought the Council to a standstill. This went on until 67 AE, when Varrenholm withdrew from the Western Accord, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately led to the alliances downfall. It also didn't help that almost all of the alliances members fell into different forms of chaos or anarchy.
Through the sixties and seventies the Council didn't really do much other than recognize new member states: Skylyn in 64 AE, Teas and Zaescaes in 73 AE, and Evonski in 77 AE. The onset of the Nether War didn't do much to help the Council's functionality, nor did the near global national isolationism in its aftermath. The Council wouldn't truly start to see a resurgance until after the Monitor Invasion of 94 AE, which showed that there needed to be some form of unity among nations to prevent any more major disasters. While still lacking any form of bite, the Council slowly began to grow in influence in the following years.
==STRUCTURE==
(Under construction)
==MEMBERSHIP==
As of 96 AE there are 17 member states of the ICV, and one observer state. Membership in the ICV is typically achieved after various treaties have been signed and a 2/3 majority of the current member states agree to recognize the prospective member as sovereign. The ICV will typically not entertain a new members application if they are in active conflict with a current member state, in order to prevent rival nations from undermining the other by recognizing potentially illegitimate secessions. These issues must first be resolved outside the ICV's jurisdiction, though the ICV may attempt to partake in peace efforts.
The Council may, additionally, appoint "observer" members with a predetermined number of rights within the ICV. At present there is only one observer state holding a seat in the ICV: The Lirun. They were initially granted non-voting observer status upon the ICV's reformation in 61 AE, but have since been given an equal voice in Council decisions. They are still classified as an "observer" as some nations protest their inclusion due to their lack of a formal government or homeland.
The current members of the ICV are as follows:
==OBJECTIVES==
===Border Definition===
Perhaps one of the most prominent uses of the Council is the role it has been assigned as the unofficial map maker. While most nations will sort out their own border disputes, the Council acts as a singular entity that comprises them all, draws the map, and then distributes it to all of its member states. Through the Council there is no mistaking who owns what piece of land, or what regions of the world are considered to be neutral.
For example: if Akarv and Llysos were to disagree on the ownership of an island on their shared bay, they would perform their own negotiations either through the Council or outside of it, but when its been settled the Council will then distribute the information on who owns it to the rest of the world, through updated maps or other means so that there is no mistaking its ownership. This becomes particularly beneficial when planning trade routes, determing square kilometers, or sometimes even when planning an attack, though that is not advised.
===International Cooperation===
The Council is not officially an alliance, it is an organization in which several nations send a delegate to partake in. As such, its members do not always get along in the reality of the real world, but the Council has set itself up in an effort to encourage an increased amount of cooperation between nations, even those in conflict with one another.
The single most important action the Council has taken with this in mind is forming the "Disaster Pact". Both the Nether War and the Monitor Invasion proved that threats far larger than any nation exist in the world, and no crisis has ever been averted by a single nation. In that spirit, the "Disaster Pact" is a situational alliance that goes into effect when disasters strike, and it has been assigned a board of military leaders from the different member states that are constantly strategizing and preparing for any potential disaster. Additionally, member states are encouraged to enlist at least one of their top tier soldiers, strategists, or miscellaneous combatants to a special task force under the Disaster Pact's jurisdiction that's sole purpose is to prevent world disasters before they can occur.
The ways in which Council nations cooperate is not always quite so dramatic, though. On the smaller scale, an international currency exchange has been set up on the main Council island so that each nations monies can be accurately translated and exchanged for anothers, allowing for immigrants or tourists to function monetarily outside their home nation. A very small percentage of currency and transactions are pulled into the Council's coffers to better fund their own efforts. On a slightly larger scale, there is an international courthouse any member state may use to settle a greivance they share with another nation. All non-involved member states may preside over the hearing, and come to a decision together. While they are unable to physically enforce their decisions, a decision in one nations favor provides them a massive boost in morale or international appearances.
===Peace Encouragement===
It is worth noting that the Council has absolutely no military or navy outside of a small security force volunteered by its member states. As such, the Council's muscle comes in the form of negotiation and international pressure rather than actual muscle. Should a conflict arise between member states, of any degree, the Council peacekeeping task force may attempt to diffuse the situation through diplomatic means, but it can, by no means, intervene in any form of battle. This has led to a significant amount of controversy over the Councils role in the world, considering it promotes peace but can't enforce it. At the end of the day, the Council is basically a volunteer-operated organization that strives for ideals, it is not a true world power.
There have been several attempts made by the Council and its members to implement internationally agreed upon treaties outlining "rules of war" and other international rights, and while some early drafts have been passed through, the Councils inability to enforce them has rendered them largely ineffective, another major criticism of the Council and its role in the world.
Category:New Voldrania Category:Voldrania Category:Organizations Category:Alliances