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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,190 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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"Well, I zink we should wait, but all you are going to learn is theories and possibilities," Gavril said, chuckling alongside the Empress, "Finds from ze Alb culture are rare, and zere is much zat we do not know about zem."
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Demoness
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"Why is that? Did something happen to the Alb?" Jia Li asked. "Or did something destroy the artifacts?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Well somezing obviously happened to zem, but we are not entirely certain what. It was zousands of years ago and zere are not any writings on it. And even if zere were, we would not be able to read zem since we have yet to decipher ze language," Gavril explained, "In addition to zat, only a handful of Alb sites have been unearthed. So we know zat ze civilization fell, and around when, but what we do not know is why."
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Demoness
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"Interesting," Jia Li added with a grin. "A 'lost' civilization. I look forward to hearing the theories."
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Cetatsenia
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At that Gavrila grinned as well, "Yeah, me too. I mean, I am pretty sure Gavril has mentioned zem before but I cannot remember what zey were."

"You should pay attention more, you might learn somezing," Gavril said in jest, a grin on his face.

"Gavril, dear brozer, not even I remember all ze zings you have talked about," Andreea said, smiling, "Not even you remember everyzing you have ever talked about."
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Demoness
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Jia Li looked out the window. "Is that it?" she asked.
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Cetatsenia
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Gavril looked out the window to the building Jia Li was looking at and nodded his head. The building was a large one, built of once-white brick that had, over the years, dulled to a light grey. It was actually fairly similar in appearance to the Royal Library the group had visited the day before; the facade had several columns at the top of a set if wide steps that lead to the thick wooden doors that made up the entrance. The structure extended to the sides, with numerous windows visible along the walls and a large stone dome was visible at the top of building.

"Yes, zat would be it," he replied, "Pretty impressive, no?"

"It looks like a lot of ze ozer buildings in ze city," Gavrila said with a shrug, "I really want to know why Cetatsen architects had such a hard-on for domes and columns."
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Demoness
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Jia Li laughed. "Domes are good for structures because of weight distribution. Or at least I think so." She shrugged. "And why not?"
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Cetatsenia
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"You do not live in Cetatsenia. You have no idea how many buildings look like zat," Gavrila said flatly, "I prefer a little more diversity in my important buildings. But no, zey all look ze same."

"Zat is not true," Gavril said, shaking his head, "Not all of zem are like zat."

"Maybe, but zere are still too many zat do," Gavrila said.
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled. "Not all architects are truly creative and, really, as long as it serves its function, what does it matter?" she asked rhetorically. "I'm sure if you went to any country and looked at their 'important' buildings, they'd start to look the same as well." She shrugged. "There are even several buildings that try to emulate the Palace and the Cathedral even though they are architecturally unique. In fact, I once heard it was impossible to replicate the Cathedral due weight distribution - I think - but that didn't stop people from trying."

---

One never sleeps well away from home and for Marcus Corbmac, this may have been particularly fortunate. The sharp inhalation of breath before the strike somehow was enough to rouse him from his sleep and he hastily disengaged his sword from beneath the covered and blocked the blow with his sheath. The movement roused the handmaiden with which he'd gone to bed last night from her slumber and she produced a powder from somewhere and blew it into the face of their attacker - Ariana Nedia. The afternoon light revealed nothing in her face but a cold determination as she struck again with the bladed fan. When it was obvious the two of them were awake - Arelia and he - Ariana retreated a few steps to allow them onto their feet and into a fighting stance.

Marcus did not bother to cover his nakedness and instead unsheathed his sword as he steeled himself. Ironically, Arelia was more naked than he, despite covering herself in a shift, because she had disarmed herself last night during their encounter. She took up a decorative hairpin and dropped low to the floor; Marcus was unfamiliar with her stance, but he was certain the amontsu knew what she was doing.

Before he had gone to bed last night, he had discussed the Head Handmaid with Xel and Makoto and while they had decided to keep her away from Aurel and whatever trigger he had created, he thought she would behave herself here. This was not her territory, so it was more difficult for her to control situations here, and a misunderstanding would reflect poorly on Jia Li. Arelia and Jade had been creative in keeping Ariana away from the royal party, but it appeared the ruse had failed. The best hope now was to concede to her challenges and trust that they would appease her hunger for confrontation until they could return to Demoness and Adiwyn Tsukihana.

Ariana struck at Arelia first, which Marcus hadn't expected, and he took a position behind, only to fall into Ariana's trap. She caught Marcus' sword between the bladed tips of her fans, and tried to twist it from his grip. He held steadily, but she slipped deeper into his defenses, and elbowed him in the solar plexus and brought her heel down hard on his instep. He still did not release his grip, choosing instead to use her strength against her in a trip, and before he could execute the move, Arelia instead thrust her hairpin at Ariana and followed the blocked thrust with a blow to nerve cluster beneath the armpit. From there, the bout because a cluster: at times, Arelia allowed Marcus to gain the upper hand against Ariana, who still was a master after all her years, while others she only impeded Marcus' tactics. Arelia was experienced, as no one would be allowed in Jia Li's presence unless they were the best, but she was no match for the single-minded sociopathy of Ariana, who seemed to brush off most incapacitating blows as if she were no more than a machine. It was only when Arelia sustained a sharp blow to the face that Marcus was able to halt the confrontation.

"Nedia, stop! How will you explain the bruising on Matsumoto's face tonight to our hosts? They will ask, especially when you leave marks."

His voice arrested Ariana's movements and she considered his words for a second before she released her grip on them and stood up. She bowed demurely, having adopted her cover once more, and left the room. Marcus scowled, sheathed his sword, and immediately went to attend to Arelia, who rebuffed his assistance. To her, it was a failure of a test, one that occurred frequently on the Plateau, but this was unacceptable to him and he would be certain to bring it up with Xel and Makoto when they returned.
Edited by Demoness, May 18 2014, 03:15 PM.
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