SHIRELINGS! WE ARE AT WAR!

Hay

A dawn of darkness has crested the horizon on our beloved Shire 

In the back of our minds, we all carried that tiny Ender chest which sealed away a doubt - a doubt not a single one of us wanted to acknowledge; a doubt that shakes the very ground upon which our magnificent world rests. It's the doubt of lasting peace, prosperity, love and unity among Shirelings. 

Only one time, in Shire history, have the skies darkened with clouds of canon fire and the air filled with the echos of chaos, of pain, of despair. Only one time, in Shire history, have Shirelings had to ready troops, fight once-friends, create new enemies. Yes, we all thought that the generations of Shirelings after Shire WWI would have learned from the mistakes of their ancestors, but we were mistaken. We were sorely, sorely mistaken.

Today, my fellow Shirelings, it is with a heart crushed beneath the weight of sorrow and fear for our great world that I must announce that war has been declared on my beloved nation, Laurelian. During the Shire WWI, Laurelian was a safe haven for refugees from all Shire empires, kingdoms, nations, cities and even the smallest hamlets in the most remote corners of the map. The Laurelii have always promoted peace, love and unity among Shirelings and today, they face an attack from one of the very nations they once took under their wing. And while I would love to imagine that the sole reason I am calling on my brothers, sisters, Apache helicopters, mayonnaise, toasters and mail boxes is to protect the ideals of friendship and unity, there is a much larger, much more dire need for this call to arms. 

Not many know that the Bank of Laurelian houses a vast wealth comprising the ores and riches of many of the Shire's top nations, empires and kingdoms. During the Shire WWI, many Shire leaders shipped their wealth to Laurelian for safe keeping and it has stayed there to this day, an untouched and integral piece in the Shire's economy. It may have been naive of me to believe that the Shire's wealth would stay protected under a code of honor, of trust, of solidarity, but I, too, was mistaken. One leader of one very young nation has threatened an attack on Laurelian and thus an attack on the Shire's wealth! 

If you've ever benefited from trade; if you've ever experienced the joy of owning a Shire business; if you've ever enjoyed the success of our booming economy; if you've ever enjoyed a delicious falafel from Hay's falafels or had a beer at Ayu's pub, or a coffee from Costa Copy, gone shopping in Oranjestad or enjoyed films produced in Follywood, this war is YOUR war! 

If you're a new nation on the Shire and have received aid from any of our great nations, established trade relations or have dreamed of the day your business graces shopping centers across the Shire, this is YOUR war!

And if you believe in the honored ideals of unity, friendship, love, peace and the Shireling way... this, my friends, is YOUR war!

It is time to join together and defeat this blemish on the face of the Shire; this boil on her back, this festering abscess in the gums of her mouth! TODAY we rise and teach a lesson to RIVERWOOD and its RIDICULOUS leader, Antheus!!

We've seen your act of war! We've heard your ramblings of a mad ruler! And we say NO!

See for yourselves, Shirelings! See this act of war, this promise of destruction! Antheus has officially declared war on Laurelian by burning her flag in effigy! THE MONSTER!