Devastation in Copan as floods continue

The Secluded Place, capital of Copan, has been cordoned off after water from what used to be a dry river-bed continues to flow into it, coinciding with torrential rain. Last month, Westcroft Canal – an old tributary of the River Wandle in Carshalton which is usually dry – started to flow again after heavy rain, flowing down into the Secluded Place. Smoker’s Wall, the brick structure leading down into the capital, became a waterfall, but now the upper wall has broken under the pressure of the water, with the water no longer flowing over the main structure but strongly gushing down past one side, revealing that a large crack has appeared in Smoker’s Wall. Sutton Parks Service, which has continued to maintain The Grove Park after it became independent from the United Kingdom in July 2010 as Orly (of which Copan is a constituent country), has set up barriers around the Secluded Place warning people of the steep slippery slopes and the fast-flowing water. It was reported earlier this month that some Orlians had attempted to dam the pipe which carries water from the United Kingdom into Copan so as to stop the flooding, but to no avail. The water flowing through the Secluded Place has nowhere to go once it reaches the end, spilling out onto the Plain of Copan (the large field which makes up the majority of the country) and resulting in most of the kingdom being either flooded or extremely muddy. The Playing Field – a large area comprising roughly two-fifths of Copan – is completely cut off, as it is surrounded on most sides by fences and its only entrances are blocked by floodwater. As well as the flooding and the damage to Smoker’s Wall, the Secluded Place has also had a tree blown over by strong winds last night. Westcroft Canal is expected to keep flowing for several more weeks at least, with more damage likely to take place over that time. An album of photographs of the flooding can be seen here.

Floods in Copan as old source of Wandle flows

The capital of Copan has flooded after heavy rain caused an old source of the River Wandle to start flowing again. Westcroft Canal, which runs from the Grotto in Carshalton Park to the Secluded Place (or “Smokers’ Wall”), capital of Copan, has been dry for many years now, but over the past few days it has become full of water after heavy rain. The canal is now flowing over the entrance to the Secluded Place (a large depression in the ground surrounded by trees), creating a waterfall and stream in the capital. It is thought that the Secluded Place would once have been totally underwater – there is a grated pipe at its other end, through which the water has flowed and made a large part of the Plain of Copan completely waterlogged. Located in Carshalton Park, the Grotto was the original source of the Wandle before drying up late last century, and fed the current source, Carshalton Ponds (another source of the river arises in Croydon). According to the Sutton Guardian, this is the first time in 15 years that heavy rainfall has caused the water-table to rise sufficiently for the source at the Grotto to flow, filling Westcroft Canal with water. Queen Emma of Copan has expressed dismay at her capital being flooded, but reflected on the fact that Westcroft Canal has prevented the water it now holds from flooding other areas. A short video of the flooding of Copan can be seen here – to reclarify, everything shown in the video would usually be dry. UPDATE 19 JANUARY 18:00 – Water continues to flow over the entrance to the Secluded Place, with the flow if anything having increased. Large parts of the Plain of Copan are now completely waterlogged.

Expedition investigates tunnel legend

Emperor Jonathan I and Countess Eritoshi yesterday investigated legends of a huge network of tunnels underneath the British town of Beddington leading into the surrounding area. Emperor Esmond III had led an informal expedition in search of the entrances to these tunnels on 29 May 2010, but this had little success other than finding a shaft covered by a large rock which went into a mound in a park in Wallington. The expedition, recorded on camera for the Imperial Geographical Society, first went to Copan, where they investigated some pipes directly over one of the possible routes taken by the tunnels if they branched off towards various old buildings as rumoured. However, these pipes were found to have been for drainage in the days when a watermill stood in the north of Copan. The Emperor and Countess next headed into Wallington, to the same park explored by Esmond III’s expedition in 2010. It was judged that the mound with a shaft leading down into it was probably once an old air raid shelter – it could not be proven otherwise, as an attempt to move the rock which blocks the entrance failed. The expedition afterwards walked to Beddington Park to visit Carew Manor. It is known that a tunnel exists under the medieval Carew Manor, but both it and the church next to it were closed and so there was nobody there to ask about the tunnels. Walking in the direction of the Plough Inn, the Emperor and Countess explored a small wooded area between the two locations. A circle of tarmac was discovered in the woods, which the Emperor suggested may possibly be a blocked entrance to the tunnel running between the two. Arriving at the Plough Inn, the expedition spoke to the assistant manager, who confirmed that the tunnel entrance in the cellar had been bricked up. She told them that a nearby hill on which some houses were built had been made with the soil excavated when the tunnels were dug. After walking over the hill and noting the large amount of soil that would have been needed to construct it, the Emperor and Countess walked down a road known to have a manhole cover leading down to the tunnels. A relatively large, unmarked one was found, which is likely to have been the one connected to the tunnels. The expedition then departed via bus to Thanasia. This was the fourth IGS Expedition to have taken place so far in 2013. A video of the expedition can be seen here.

Declan I deposed as Austenasian suzerainty reasserted over Orly

Dissatisfaction with Declan I broke out into open rebellion in Orly today as citizens declared the King of New Wessex deposed from Orly and asked the Emperor to appoint new monarchs. King Declan I of New Wessex, who has ruled Orly as a Wessaxon constituent country since January 2012, was due to visit Orly today. After it was found out that Declan had missed the first two trains and would arrive over two hours later than planned, a group of Orlian citizens who had met to greet him grew restless. Waiting for him to arrive, the citizens learnt that he planned to demand Jonathan I relinquish the title Shahanshah (King of the Kings) of the Carshalton Nations, a title assumed by Declan I himself when he was Emperor of Austenasia to denote the position held by the Emperor as overlord of the Carshalton Sector. This led to overt discontent, with the Orlians openly expressing their wish to be under Austenasian suzerainty rather than independent rule by a foreign monarch. Walking to Orly from the nearby train station, citizens refounded the kingdoms of the Grove and of Copan, polities which had been deprived of their sovereignty when Declan I unified them into the Tsardom of Orly (later declared part of New Wessex) in December 2010, and declared Declan deposed. Telephoning Declan I via mobile to inform him of the unfolding events, the Emperor discovered that he had not yet even bought his train ticket. Realising that it may be ill-advised to go ahead, Declan cancelled the visit. Given the phone by Jonathan I, Countess Eritoshi of Memphis bluntly told Declan I that there was no support for his reign in Orly to continue and stressed that Orlians would always consider the Emperor as overlord, resulting in Declan relinquishing New Wessex’s claim to sovereignty over Orly. The Emperor, Countess Eritoshi and Crown Princess Caroline (the latter giving her consenting vote via mobile) passed an Act of Parliament renouncing Austenasian recognition of Wessaxon sovereignty over Orly. Emperor Jonathan I then made an Imperial Edict appointing Calum I – the founder of Orly, and Duke of the Grove under New Wessex – King of the Grove, appointing prominent Orlian citizen Emma I as Queen of Copan, and promising autonomy for the County of Memphis in the Grove to Countess Eritoshi. Orly was founded on 4 July 2010, being split into the Kingdoms of Copan and of the Grove later that month, both recognising the suzerainty of Austenasia and the right of the Emperor to appoint Orlian monarchs. Declan I, the first King of Copan, rejected Austenasian suzerainty over Orly when he reunified it in December 2010 as part of a larger secret plan to remove the then Emperor Esmond III from power, but its citizens always made clear their recognition of the Emperor as their overlord. Esmond III and several Orlian citizens who were unable to attend the would-be visit have expressed their delight at the news that Orly is once more under the suzerainty of the Empire.

Odd goings-on in Orly as tree blows over

HIH Crown Prince Jonathan, Viceroy of the nearby Wessaxon constituent country of Orly, came across the carcass of a dead turkey as he made his weekly inspection of the nation earlier today. The turkey – headless, plucked, and with the innards removed – had been left on the ground in Wisdom, an area in the Grove region of Orly. After helping a dog walker stop their dog from trying to eat the bird, the Viceroy took a closer look at the carcass before depositing it in a nearby rubbish bin. The bird, although missing most of its meat, showed no sign of decay or rot. Judging by the incident which had just taken place and the many dogs walked in Orly, it had probably not been there for more than a day due to still being mostly in one piece – a leg of the bird was found a few feet away. The state of the carcass made it seem likely that it had been prepared for somebody’s Christmas dinner before, for some inexplicable reason, being left in the Grove. It was unclear if the turkey had been cooked or not. What made this find somewhat more significant than it would otherwise have been was that the turkey was discovered almost exactly on the former spot of the Wisdom Tree, a young ash tree which gave the surrounding area its name and had been uprooted in 2010. The Wisdom Tree was used as a central meeting point for the social group that would become the Orlian nation, with its loss being angrily mourned. Continuing on his patrol of Orly, the Viceroy came across some flower stalks attached to a tree in Memphis, capital of the Grove, with adhesive tape. Memphis became the main meeting place for Orlians after the loss of the Wisdom Tree, with the flower stalks found attached to a tree within a few yards of a large stone used as the throne of the Grovian monarch between 2010 and 2012. Any significance to or meaning behind these two objects being found placed at the two most important cultural sites of the Grove is yet to be determined. A brief inspection of the Secluded Place, capital of the other Orlian region Copan, found nothing out of the ordinary. A clue to the origin of the flower stalks was found in a fallen tree near the border with Copan. Said tree was felled at some point after 22 December, the date of the most recent visit by the Viceroy, probably by recent heavy winds. A bunch of flowers was found in the branches of the fallen tree – whether the flower stalks came from here, and if so why, is unknown. No meaning has been found for the turkey and flowers, and it is unknown if they are even connected, although two such out of place objects being found at two such culturally significant sites on the same date is unlikely to be a coincidence. A follow-up visit to Orly has been planned for some point over the next few days to see if any more anomalous objects appear.