"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations...entangling alliances with none" - Thomas Jefferson.

--

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, King Charles Street, London

Only a day had passed since the government had announced HMS Albion's first contact with the Qua-Toyne Principality, and already the news had made a profound effect on British society.

The initial panic, despair and even fear that had festered in the void of speculation in the days following the quake had all but ceased, having been replaced with a new, curious perspective.

With the Albion's report stating that the Principality outwardly only had access to a level of technology reminiscent of Britain's Middle Ages, it had made the public more confident in their country's situation.

Although, the obvious concern surrounding their transfer to a different world remained, the fear of which threats they may have been surrounded by had dissipated to a large extent.

If their southern neighbours were stuck in the Medieval ages, what if that was the case elsewhere? What if that was the case everywhere? 

What if the United Kingdom possessed capabilities their new neighbours could only dream of?

Needless to say, the Prime Minister's reveal of this information to the media during one of his now daily press conferences had sparked a significant amount of debate throughout the country.

From local pubs, to the board rooms of Britain's largest companies, it was all anyone could talk about.

The public craved more information about this Principality.

And it was Foreign Secretary Johnathan Mills' job to ensure that it would get to them.

Having arranged a meeting with one of the Principality's envoys through their now mutual connection aboard the Albion, which had been tasked with holding it's position between the two countries and serving as an impromptu, temporary point of communication, he had dispatched his Deputy Aaron Kearns to meet with the Qua-Toyne representative.

The location of the meeting was set within the Principality itself.

A fact that MI6 had taken no small amount of interest in.

Since the moment first contact had been confirmed, the Foreign Office had been swarming with members of the intelligence community; like the public, desperate to know more about their new neighbours through any means possible.

They had arranged for hidden cameras and mics to be placed onto every member of Minister Kearns' diplomatic attaché; while the Service undoubtedly had more sophisticated means of acquiring information, the new Prime Minister had yet to grant them permission to expand their gathering operations on the Principality.

"I'm not comfortable with establishing this precedent." Had been his line of rejection.

Secretary Mills himself was surprisingly ambivalent about it.

If the Albion's report really was true, then surely they had nothing to worry about anyway.

After all John was vastly more concerned with the upcoming Foreign Affairs Select Committee meeting that had been arranged to review and replace the Foreign Office's budget.

An understandable decision as their responsibilities had dropped from engaging with 195 countries to just 1 within the span of an afternoon.

There can't only be one country in this new world. He thought, hoping he would be able to justify his department's continued existence.

They only needed to meet the rest of them.

--

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qua-Toyne City, Qua-Toyne Principality

"You should have given us more time to prepare." Foreign Minister Rinsui grumbled.

"The Lourians could invade at any moment. We don't have time to prepare." Prime Minister Kanata responded, already tired of Rinsui's frequent complaints.

The day previous, it had only taken a few hours from initial departure for the Principality's renowned 2nd Fleet to find the owners of the iron dragon that had flown over Maihalk earlier.

Admiral Narao's report had described several vast, metal ships, each one the size of three dozen of his own combined.

While on-board he made mention of seeing countless magical instruments, and a different iron dragon that slept on-top of the vessel, one that used spinning blades to manoeuvre itself instead of wings.

According to the Admiral, the ships had belonged to a nation known as the United Kingdom.

One that the ship's captain had told him was summoned, although even a child would know that summoning nations was merely an old fishwives tale.

The Admiral had always been a superstitious man.

Yet, regardless of whether or not Kanata believed that this newly encountered country had come from another world, he knew that if even half of Admiral Narao's report was true, then establishing a friendship with the United Kingdom could save them from Louria's wrath.

They simply needed to figure out what this country's motives were.

"You say the Lourians will invade, yet we know nothing about these newcomers. For all we know they might want to conquer us as well. Better the devil you know, I say." Rinsui argued.

And while Kanata's first instinct was to retaliate, he did have to admit that the man had a point.

Although the British-- as they were called-- had apologised for their iron dragon's intrusion over Maihalk, their capabilities in the sea and air had evidently terrified Admiral Narao.

If even a veteran like him was left shaken upon merely seeing what these visitors were capable of, Kanata trembled to think what would happen to his Principality if they had less than friendly intentions in mind.

"Well it's too late now. They'll be arriving shortly." Kanata conceded.

The meeting had already been arranged and the British were on their way; even if they were conquerors, the Principality was going to be at war soon either way.

So taking the risk to potentially secure a new ally was more than worth it in his mind.

From the distance, a faint thrum could be heard. Strange, and unfamiliar to the occupants of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a number of eyes had gravitated to the large, majestic mansion's many windows to see what the source of the sound was.

At the horizon, gliding over the rural landscape of the outskirts that surrounded Qua-Toyne's capital city, a large iron dragon was approaching with haste.

It was long and dark green, with two small pillars at the top of it, one at it's rear end and the other at the front, on-top of those pillars were two sets of spinning blades.

The.. Entity, or beast was unlike anything the Qua-Toynians had ever seen, and Kanata couldn't resist the slight shiver that followed his laying eyes on it.

Bracing himself for the meeting ahead, Kanata went outside to wait for the dragon's arrival.

...

"We're descending into the courtyard now, sir." The chinook's crew chief yelled over to Minister of State for Europe Kearns as the helicopter begun to gradually lower itself to the ground below.

In the back of the fifty-five seat helicopter sat a dozen or so diplomats from the Foreign Office, and twice as many members of the RAF Police, all fully geared and armed. 

The MOD had insisted that a hefty security detail be provisioned for the meeting, not that any of the diplomats were in disagreement, as many were anxious to even be there.

It wasn't as if this sort of thing happened often.

"When we land, you all need to stick to what you've been told. Stay close together, and never leave our line of sight." Flight Sergeant Peters, the ranking airman of the mission reiterated to the two rows of envoys that watched him.

While first contact on the Albion had came and gone without incident. The Principality's behaviour still remained largely unknown. Hence, it was best to proceed with caution.

At least this was the idea the Foreign Office and Armed Forces were operating under.

Aaron Kearns on the other hand was ecstatic as the helicopter touched down in the flat-grassed courtyard close to the mansion that their neighbours had designated as their meeting place.

An entirely new country, with an entirely new culture and people? What wasn't to love? Before the quake he had been assigned to trade talks with New Zealand, and while it had been by no standard a bad job, making first contact with the natives of a new world was eons better.

A younger man than most this high up in the Foreign Office, he had a particular skip in his step as the rear-door of the chinook lowered itself, irritating some of the airmen with how quickly he rushed off the helicopter in spite of their instructions.

"Sir, you need to stay with us." Peters called as he hustled after the man.

Behind them, the rest of the diplomats and their RAF escorts were stepping down the chinook's now open ramp, each taking in the remarkable beauty-- but notable familiarity-- of this new world as they began to mumble amongst themselves.

"You must be Minister of State Aaron Kearns?" A new voice approached.

The newly appeared man to Aaron's right was tall and slim, with a rigid, blond shoulder length haircut and an elaborately decorated white robe adorning his form.

But it hadn't been any of that which had captured Aaron's attention.

It had been his Elf ears. 

"Minister?" The man repeated, no doubt concerned as to why he hadn't received a response, or why the man he was due to be negotiating with was staring at him so intently.

Awkward.

"Right! Yes, I'm Minister of State for Europe Aaron Kearns, representing the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II." 

(Had he even memorized that correctly?) 

The man, who Aaron assumed must have been Prime Minister Kanata, seemed pleased.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Minister Kearns. I am Prime Minister Kanata, head of state of the Qua-Toyne Principality." He replied with a warm, welcoming smile. Perhaps Aaron wasn't the only one between them with a staring problem, the Brit catching his counterpart's bright green eyes drifting to the chinook behind them as he introduced himself.

(Did he even know what a helicopter was? And why did they all speak English?) 

"Come, let's continue our discussion inside." Kanata carried on, the two men starting a slow walk to the front entrance of the large, attractive mansion.

--

Fort Mohan, Gim Township, Principality-Louria Border Region

"Have Wyvern reconnaissance reported back?" Captain Moiji asked to his Lieutenant, as the two armoured men stood atop the southernmost wall of Fort Mohan.

"Just a few moments ago, Captain. The Lourians are just as active as they were yesterday, but their positions haven't changed." Amano, his Lieutenant replied. 

Responsible for the town of Gim's defence, Moiji and the 2,500 troops stationed in Fort Mohan were all that stood between Gim and a long road straight to the capital.

On the other side of the border stood anywhere from 100,000 to 400,000 Lourian troops, and as many as 500 Wyverns to provide air support.

To say that the odds were stacked against him would have been an understatement.

"They'll invade soon, I'm sure of it." Moiji coldly stated, with little consideration for the fear such a comment would strike in his much younger subordinate, who had never seen a battle before.

For several weeks now, the Louria Kingdom had been behaving in an intentionally provocative manner, manoeuvring troops close to the border, ignoring all communications..

And if the rumours from up north were true, they'd even flown a Wyvern over the city of Maihalk.

It was only a matter of time before the Lourians invaded, and though the Principality held an additional 48,000 troops in reserve, even they wouldn't be enough to stop them.

But, in the face of all out annihilation, what else could a man do other than steel his resolve? 

Even if the thoughts of his wife and son back in Myark continued to chip away at his commitment to the national cause. What would happen to them if they were found by the Lourians..

It wasn't bearable to think of, and that was why he had to fight despite it all.

"We should request additional troops from the capital." Amano said, breaking the Captain from his inner monologue. Shaking his head, Moiji could only smile at the suggestion.

"If our Generals were smart, they would have consolidated what comparatively few forces we have in the capital to begin with. Instead, we'll all die in separate little pockets." 

His realism-- or was it cynicism-- seemed to further disturb the young man beside him.

"Besides, the capital won't return my communications." The Captain decided to continue, admittedly feeling a slight pang of regret at the loss of morale he'd likely caused.

"Oh? Why not, Captain?" Amano questioned, his curiosity momentarily defeating whatever other emotions were battling for supremacy within him.

"Apparently the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Defence Minister are all engaged in an emergency conference with someone." Moiji looked to Amano.

"Who--" The Lieutenant went to ask, but was swiftly interrupted.

"They didn't tell me." The Captain declared, already recovering from the frustration he had felt at the lack of clarity when he had been told an hour prior.

Amano sighed, similarly disappointed at the absence of information, while Moiji resigned himself to staring up at the bright blue sky above, wondering how long it would be before its light was hidden by the plumes of Wyvern smoke.

--

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qua-Toyne City, Qua-Toyne Principality

Prime Minister Kanata had always thought of himself to be an educated man. While careful not to cross into the realm of snobbery, he had been taught in the Principality's finest university.

It never could have prepared him for this.

Four hours into the Qua-Toyne Principality's first official diplomatic talks with the United Kingdom and already he could feel a migraine coming on. 

Each of the British representatives whom were sat on the opposite side of the table had been listing off various goods and materials endlessly, many of which he had never even heard of.

They needed precious metals like gold, platinum, silver and diamonds. And while those were not uncommon wants for a country, the quantity they wanted was frankly ludicrous.  

Minister Kearns had only seemed surprised for a moment, yet the fact he had been surprised at all had told Kanata that whomever the British were, they were clearly significantly wealthy.

Their talks had begun with the matter of Britain itself. According to Kearns, his country was comprised of two main islands, with dozens of smaller ones scattered around it.

One of his assistants had then added that they were roughly 3,000 kilometres from the Qua-Toyne coast, and that they held a combined population of 67 million people.

Could they have really been summoned? 

"What about agricultural goods? We have an abundance of fertile farmland." Kanata could remember suggesting, hoping he would be able to provide at least something to the Brits.

It had only met limited success.

According to Kearns, the United Kingdom produced most of it's own food, although apparently their people were picky enough to desire a wide variety of selections in their diets.

"Your nobility is demanding like our own, I see." Kanata had joked, though his laugh had soon stopped upon him seeing the perplexed look on his British counterpart's expression.

"No, Prime Minister. We would be looking for enough of these products to satisfy our entire population." He had informed politely, having remained completely formal as his assistant slid a sheet of paper across the table.

While they had already established by this point that their written languages were foreign to one another, the numbers still made sense to Kanata.

And they had been deeply concerning to say the least.

Even now, as the British diplomats spoke at length of their need for rare-earth elements (whatever those were) he near-shivered at the implications of that sheet.

Tens of millions of people, by all accounts the common peasantry of the United Kingdom, were seemingly wealthy enough to have this variety of food at their disposal?  

Lemons. Avocados. Peppers. Cucumbers. Wine. Tomatoes. 

Somehow, this had managed to shake him more than that flying iron cylinder, the 'Chinook' ever had. Just what kind of country were they dealing with here? 

"Prime Minister?" Kearns' voice from across the table freed him from the confines of his own anxiety. He had a slightly concerned look about him.

(This nation must be immensely powerful.) 

"Yes, Minister Kearns. I'm listening." He smiled kindly with a nod, cringing at his own acknowledgement that he'd been captured in his own thoughts much like he had seen with Kearns when they had first met.

It was clear that their two peoples had a great deal to learn about each other.

"As I was saying, an important part of formalizing our diplomatic and trade relationship will be the establishment of mutual embassies. One in your capital, and one in London, our capital." 

Had he been saying that? Kanata thought, swearing that he had heard the man discussing those rare-earth elements, while he himself had been trapped in his own head.

"I thought you were informing us of those.. Elements." Kanata replied with a raised brow.

Kearns nodded, courteously smiling. "I was, these two topics are connected. In-order to determine whether or not the Principality has deposits of these elements, we would need to dispatch geologists and other experts to survey your territory." He explained coolly. 

"And mutual embassies would make this easier." Kanata confirmed, while Kearns nodded again.

"They would. The Qua-Toyne Principality is the first country we've encountered in this world, and our own Prime Minister would very much like to develop this relationship." 

Though the British had been expressing similar sentiments throughout their hours-long conference, it still came as a relief for Kanata to hear those words from the Minister.

"Then mutual embassies you shall have, Minister Kearns." Kanata smiled, all the while the next topic of discussion quickly fermented in the back of his mind. 

The United Kingdom was a powerful country, or so was his suspicion. The looks he had been subtly sharing with Foreign Minister Rinsui and Defence Minister Daigo throughout the meeting confirmed that they concurred with that assessment. 

But there no was way for them to know for certain unless they could see the British homeland in-person. 

An embassy, as expensive as one would be to maintain in a far-off land given the developing military situation at home, would therefore be an invaluable asset to have.

If this Kingdom was powerful, and if they were able to win over it's affections, then perhaps Qua-Toyne could still be saved from the now inevitable Lourian invasion. 

Placing his faith into fragile, turbulent optimism had always been something his mentor, the former Prime Minister had discouraged. Leadership needed to be inherently stable to succeed.

Yet, with the Lourians already at their gates, and the probability of war increasing with each passing day, what damage could a little hope possibly do? 

"I would like to send representatives to London as soon as possible." Kanata declared suddenly, not giving himself the opportunity to back out of the decision. 

Kearns and his assistants alike seemed satisfied. 

"We can arrange for that within the day."

--

London City Airport, Royal Docks, Newham, London

If only Kanata had decided to join them on their trip to London.

Foreign Minister Rinsui couldn't shake the thought as that dark green iron dragon he was aboard flew gracefully over the now present city below.

To see the world from this high up should have been a possibility to only the most skilled of Wyvern riders; yet here he was, an unhealthy, middle-aged man who couldn't tame even a horse..

British magic truly was remarkable.

Turning his attention the city below, he could see swathes of artificial light begin to illuminate what seemed like an innumerable amount of flawlessly paved streets.

In only a few minutes, every part of the city within his line of sight had lit up, ensuring it was possible to see each and every building even as the sun descended.

London was like no other place he had ever seen. It was a vast, unending megapolis that stretched all the way to the horizon. An all encompassing ocean of grey with only small islands of green to break apart its monotony every so often.

In the distance, Rinsui had seen towering glass structures that were tall enough to be capable of piercing the very heavens with their sharp peaks. 

Samuel, the British diplomat who had been told to escort them, had referred to them as skyscrapers when asked.

And from where the Foreign Minister had been sitting, capable of seeing them from a distance even this great, it had sounded like a terribly accurate description.

It was no small wonder then as to why in their third hour of flying Rinsui was practically the only member of the Qua-Toynian delegation to still be of sound mind.

(The flight had been long enough that the iron dragon had needed to land on a British vessel part-way through the trip to renew its magic reserves before continuing.)

To his sides, on both rows of the helicopter's interior seats, his aides were either cowering, too afraid to look out of the Chinook's curved windows, or whispering prayers to themselves due to any number of superstitious fears.

It disappointed him, though he remained confident in his own ability to remain calm. Where his countrymen saw unfathomable magic, and a frightening alien civilization, he saw opportunity.

Rinsui had resigned himself to know that he had been wrong in doubting the Mayor of Maihark when he had told the government of the iron dragon.

He did not intend on being wrong again.

Over the course of their flight to London, it had become clear to him that establishing an alliance with the United Kingdom was of the utmost importance.

Perhaps Kanata's gamble would pay off, after all.

...

"Welcome to London, sir." A short, brown-haired man in a black suit (a piece of British attire popular with their representatives) greeted Rinsui as he stepped out of the iron dragon's now descended rear door.

According to Samuel, they had landed in a place known as London City Airport.

It was an open stretch of hard grey material he had called 'tarmac' something that the United Kingdom's many iron dragons needed use to take off and land safely. Unlike Wyverns, it was apparently not recommended for their larger iron dragons to utilize natural landscape.

"Thank you..  Already, I can tell this is a marvellous city." Rinsui stated, his voice betraying the awe he still felt himself in.

"We appreciate the compliment, Foreign Minister. Please, come with me." 

...

Under escort from a group of men in all-black uniforms (though strangely they all seemed to lack any durable steel armour) Rinsui was taken by Samuel and the man with the short brown hair to a waiting carriage.

Only it wasn't a carriage at all.

Having made their way through the airport, a structure already impressive in it's sheer scale and structural complexity, the Foreign Minister had been taken out front to one of London's many smoothly paved streets, when he asked.

"Oh? Has the carriage not arrived yet?" 

A question that his British counterparts had found some humour in, lightly chuckling.

"We use cars, Foreign Minister. They're a bit like carriages." Samuel replied politely, his arm drifting out to point at a sleek black metallic box that sat before them on the street.

"This is a car?" Rinsui asked, something he'd found himself doing a lot of lately. The two Brits beside him nodded, one section of the 'car' suddenly opening to reveal a man within, who got out and took it upon himself to open another section of the car, one closer to it's rear.

"Please, you first." The man with the short brown hair said, and Rinsui stepped forward, awkwardly leaning down to fit his larger frame into what he had assumed would be a more confined space.

Although once he was inside, the interior of the car only felt larger than it looked from outside.

The seats were soft, warm and all-too comfortable; there were even small lights shining down on him from the ceiling of this British carriage.

"Incredible." He whispered to himself.

"Your aides will be put in larger cars that will follow us to the hotel." Samuel said from Rinsui's side, entering the car from another door and sitting next to him.

This car made even Prime Minister Kanata's official carriage feel like a peasant's vegetable cart by comparison.

"Tomorrow, we should hopefully have your staff set up in a permanent embassy, and we'll show you some of our economic and military capabilities." The man with the short brown hair continued, sitting in a seat that was at the front of the car.

Rinsui learned shortly after that the British referred to this kind of car in-particular as a Jaguar.

--

Author's Notes: 

Hey, everyone. I wanted to get this chapter out earlier, but real world commitments got in the way. This chapter was centred more or less solely on the birth of diplomacy between the UK and Qua-Toyne Principality, which will allow me to focus on other things in the coming chapters.

We're also building up to the Lourian invasion, and their attack on Gim, which should be fun.

 Unlike in the original NHS, the Lourians will attack not long after Britain's arrival in the New World, as opposed to the two month time skip that happens in Summoning Japan. This should lead to an interesting conundrum for the recently summoned country.