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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,233 Views)
Cetatsenia
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If one was to take a place from the nation of Demoness to Cetatsenia, one would most likely see the dichotomy that the nation was rather known for. In the southern parts of the nation one would notice the highlands, heavily forested and almost untouched by man aside from the winding roads and the occasional town. But further north, the terrain would give away to the lowlands of the Centric Basin. This land was flat, and lacked the expansive forests, though there were smaller isolated forests. But the main difference one would notice would be the level of development, it was dominated by a large amount of farmland as the lowland soil was incredibly fertile, but there was also the occasional city, bustling with people.

Albraustana-zid was one such city, and it was the primate city of Cetatsenia, the richest and most populous and most important of them all. It was built along both sides of the great Albastru River that ran through much of Cetatsenia, though most of it was on the southern bank of the river. This was because of the simple fact that Albraustana-zid had begun life as three separate forts and settlements built along the river. Albrau and Stana had been built on the Southern bank, and over time had grown together until they were finally united into Albraustana. And while Zid would eventually become part of the greater whole, for a long time it was simply considered a city separated from the capital only by the river.

Since it had grown organically over the numerous years, and had once been three separate cities, the streets and roads had a habit of being winding and could be complicated to navigate for those unfamiliar with them who had no map. Though the roads had over time been widened and revamped in order to accommodate cars, and the newest sections of the city on the outskirts actually had a gridded street plan. As it was the middle of the day, the streets were currently filled with cars and buses, and the sidewalks filled with pedestrians, while the newest addition to the city's transportation network, the subway system, ran below the streets.

While there was a number of attractions in the city, such as the museums and baths, one of the most prominent is the Palatul Regal, the Royal Palace. The site of the original settlement of Albrau and lying atop a hill, it has been torn down or otherwise destroyed and then subsequently rebuilt several times throughout history. The most recent being the ascension of Ioan I to the throne of Cetatsenia, though it has been renovated and updated since then.

The Palace itself is surrounded by a wall that rings the entirety of the hill, with only a single gate leading up to it. The wall is patrolled by a special corps of Cetatsenian soldiers, easily identified by their bright blue ceremonial uniforms and ornate, pointed helmets. After that, a road lead up to the palace proper, an expansive building with a stone exterior that shared more in common with a medieval castle than what one thinks of when they hear the word 'palace'. It was home to a fair number of servants, as well as the guardsmen, and a small number of government officials. Most of those lived out in the city, and worked in their own buildings. It was absolutely huge, and in front of it was an expansive pool of water. Overall, it was an impressive sight that could be seen from a good portion of the city.

At the moment, however, Voivode Gavril IV Suveraneshti was not at his home in the palace. Rather he was at the airport, which had been cleared of any citizens besides him, the guards arrayed with him, and those who worked there; all flights to this airport had either been delayed or rerouted to other nearby airports. Today was an important day, as this was the decided upon day of Jia Li's visit to Cetatsenia. As two nations whose relationship could be accurately described as "mutually neutral", this was a rather important meeting, and Gavril did not want to mess anything up. So he stood alongside his older sister Andreea, the Steward of Cetatsenia, in the airport, ready to head out onto the tarmac to greet the Empress as soon as her plane set down.
Edited by Cetatsenia, Apr 22 2014, 09:58 PM.
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Cetatsenia
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Gavril stood as well, with the rest of the Cetatsens following suite. Though Gavrila was the last to stand, as she took a while to stretch herself out fully before getting back on her feet.

"I zink we are prepared as well," Gavril said, nodding to Vasile.

"Good, zen follow me," he said, then made his way over to one of the bookshelves, "None of zese bookcases are real, by ze way. Ze books are just carved out of ze wood and covered to look like books."

Then he took hold of the bookcase, and pulled. Surprisingly, it swung open, revealing that it was actually a door. The Vasile turned and chuckled, "It is just like ze movies, is it not?"

Then he lead the group into what appeared to be a large and extravagant ballroom. It had massive windows running all along its sides, a great golden chandelier, and a second level of balconies supported by carved columns that ran from the floor to the ceiling. The only strange thing about it was the fact that it was completely upside-down. The door they had just come out of blended in with the wall, and the group was currently standing on what would normally be the ceiling, with the great chandelier sitting inverted in front of them.

"You can never forget zis place," Gavril said, smiling as he looked around at the room.

"Iad da," Gavrila replied, grinning as well. Even Aurel and Andreea were smiling, and it was obvious from the look of amazement on Lieutenant Dalca's face that the soldier had never seen the room before. He had never actually visited the Castel de Nebunie, and while he had remained professional throughout the castle so far, this room was just impressive. He knew it was there, since he had spent the previous night going over the rooms of the castle and committing as much to memory as he could due to his being chosen to guard the Voivode. But actually seeing it in person was incredible.
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Demoness
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Jia Li grinned, knowing what she would have done half a lifetime ago before decorum finally settled into her behavior. She really would have liked to have done a handstand and pretended to be hanging off the chandelier for a picture, and she would have forced Xel to be complicit. Makoto would probably abet her caper now, but she had her impulses under control. Instead, she simply turned around in place and soaked it in. It would have been a fine ballroom had it been the right side up and she found herself curious about the balconies. "Do those go anywhere?" she asked, pointing.
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Cetatsenia
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"Surprisingly enough, some of zem do. Zough just as many are simply carved into ze wall," Vasile said, "You can tell when you are in one of ze rooms zat connects to one of zose doors because zey are barred off. From what I heard, a couple of years ago a tour guide opened one of ze doors to show the group the view of ze ballroom from up zere and he slipped and fell. Luckily he only broke his arm."

"I zink I remember somezing about zat," Gavril said, "Some people wanted to completely close zis place down, did zey not."

Vasile nodded, "Zough it obviously did not work. And it was only a vocal minority anyway."

"Zank God, I would suck if zis place was closed down," Gavrila added.
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Demoness
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Jia Li frowned. "Barring it off seems to be a bit of an overreaction," she said. "A rope or something would've been sufficient."

Her culture was a little contradictory when it came to safety. On the one hand, they had a comprehensive healthcare system, which necessitated a careful examination and monitoring of participants' health habits; those that were insufficient were ejected from the system or made to pay premiums. On the other, there was a cultural belief in personal responsibility, which extended to the family; if the structure was sound and there was no other issues, then it was the fault of the guide for not being careful enough not to fall.
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Cetatsenia
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"Zere was just a rope. Ze man kind of leaned over it. Which is why he fell," Vasile said, "And Ban Serafim decided zat he could not just do nozing. And when I say 'barred off', it is sort of a moveable grate like you saw earlier."

"He probably saw no reason to add anyzing extra, but did not want to seem like he did not care about possible safety hazards," Gavril said with a shrug, "But zat is just a guess."
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Demoness
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Jia Li shrugged. "No, I suppose not, but there isn't really much that can be done that wouldn't also destroy the view," she replied.
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Cetatsenia
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"True, it is a pity. But on ze bright side we can still see it from down here," Gavril said.

"I prefer ze view from down here," Gavrila said, grinning as she stared at the chandelier, then she pointed at it, "I want to see zat up close."

"Oh, by all means Kezinja, get closer," Vasile said, "Zere is no rules against it. And you do not have to stick close in a large room like zis. As long as you stay here."

"Uimitor," Gavrila said with a grin as she quickly made her way over to the inverted chandelier with Aurel silently in tow. Gavril watched with a smile on his face, while Andreea sighed in mock exasperation.

"So, shall we follow my razer excitable cousin?" Gavril asked, chuckling, "Or did you want to look at somezing else in ze room?"
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled. "No. Actually, I was thinking the same thing. I'd like to examine the chandelier close," she said. Then she turned to Vasile and asked, "When you normally conduct tours, what are the rules about photography?"
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Cetatsenia
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"If you have a camera, then you can take as many pictures as you want," Vasile said and shrugged before leading the group over to the chandelier. The chandelier was rather large, and appeared to be made of solid gold with the exception of the candles that it held. It was also intricately detailed, the gold appearing to be sculpted in the shape of vines and flowers. From a distance the chandelier actually appeared to somehow be attached to the floor by nine chains, one in the middle and eight arrayed around it, in violation of the laws of physics. However, once one approached they would see that they were simply golden poles in the shape of a chain.

Gavrila was staring up at the chandelier when the group arrived, and the group could hear her mutter "Pttr" underneath her breath.

"I am surprised zat you are not playing on it like a little kid," Andreea said, teasing her cousin.

Gavrila just waved it off and looked at the group. "Zis zing is fucking cool," he said, gesturing to the chandelier, "How ze hell has it stood up zis long?"

"Constant maintenance and ze fact zat ze supports are actually gilded steel," Vasile said, "Zough it helps zat not all of it is ze original chandelier; large portions of it are simply a reproduction made of much lighter metals."

"It is still impressive," Gavril said, then turned to Jia Li, "Is it not?"
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled at Vasile's response, thinking of all the things she would have done had she had a camera and was not expected to act like a proper lady. Aside from hanging off the chandelier, there had previously been several good opportunities and she was a bit surprised that there weren't designated photo points as there were at some tourist sites.

She was fascinated by the chandelier and touched it as she replied to Gavril. "Certainly. Very good engineering for it to stay so long. What were the original materials?" she asked. Something this large was certainly heavy and would have been especially dangerous hanging overhead, but it was quite pretty as it was now.
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