And Now We Are Two

In which the Grand Commonwealth celebrates its second birthday, and is revealed to be a noble hippopotamus.

Yesterday (Saturday 28th) saw the erstwhile Grand Commonwealth celebrated the first two years of its fabled existence, thus confounding the beliefs of a well-known minority who have long professed that it was dead, and consequently are now rather disappointed and seeking counselling for the withdrawal of their much-cherished belief-system.

The anniversary event consisted of a well-attended but low-key ceremony, during which His Majesty Tahmaseb Abakhtari, the Shahan-Ri, delivered the following rallying speech:

"One could begin to babble endlessly how great and mighty we all are, but we all know that. Instead I plan to talk about something completely different: hippos.

"The noble hippopotamus is a remarkable beast. It is mostly docile and likes to stay in the water in groups. It is a vegetarian but its teeth are very suitable for combat. When two hippopotami fight death is an option. Hippos are buoyant when young but not anymore when they grow up which means adults can't swim. They can stay submerged about five minutes while walking on the bottom of the river/lake.

"We are much like the hippos. We have grown up and are not buoyant anymore. To keep breathing we must be active and not just dose off while floating. We might be nice but can be dangerous if cornered. Hippos are docile but then again they are an endangered species. Perhaps we shouldn't be like the hippos?

"Therefore I invite everyone to think what kind of an animal we should be. This is a task that might seem ridiculous and childish at first but I ask you to think about it. This is about change which is essential in every community. Stagnation leads to death. Therefore it is your duty to commit yourselves to progress.

"This has been a great two-year fable so far. Let's make it even better!"

Babkhan Heirs Announced

THE ROYAL SHAHYIAR PALACE, BABKHA - The long-awaited decision about the successors to the Royal Babkhan Throne was announced to the world on Tuesday by His Majesty Osman Shahanshah.

The decision was inspired by His Majesty being "mortally wounded" by the recent passing away of His Highness the Sultan of Hatay, Muhammed al-Baqir, known to rest of the micronational community as the erstwhile Master Robert Davis.

His Majesty's familial house, the Imperial House of Osmani, has now adopted the Imperial House of Rugahi, thus making His Excellency Mirza Darius Rugahi the new Crown Prince and Heir to the Kapav throne.

The second in line to the throne was revealed as being Rashid Arslani, of the Imperial House of Arslani, while His Imperial Majesty Tahmaseb Abakhtari, former Shah of Babkha and current Shahan-Ri of the Grand Commonwealth, is now the third in the line of succession.

The new heirs to the throne said they were very honoured in being chosen and wished the Shah of Babkha a long reign.