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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,186 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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"Alright zen," Gavril said, and then noticing Xel's expression added, "And we can continue our conversation later. I simply do not wish to get in ze way of anyone else wishing to see ze exhibit."

He lead the group to the next exhibit, which covered a rather expansive period of time. There were an array of tools, much like before, but unlike the stone and copper tools of the previous exhibit, many of these were iron. The displays talked about how actual civilization spread from the Alb culture, even as the Alb culture itself slowly degenerated and disappeared. The exhibit was about Cetatsenia's pre-Intermarium Iron Age, which was interesting in that the region didn't appear to have had much of a Bronze Age. It seemed that just as bronzeworking was beginning to become more commonplace in the area, ironworking was discovered by the people of the Vedic mountains. Who were able to subjugate much of the Centric Basin thanks to this fact, though they were never truly united. The ruins of cities in this era also seemed to be more haphazard and less though-out than the the planned and grid-like cities of the early Alb, and it was an interesting contrast. One of the displays also held what was determined to be a copper and gold 'crown' of a King, though it was conical in shape and several feet high, with decoration and inscriptions along the side that had been worn down over the course of millennia.

"That looks stupid as hell," Gavrila said, obviously talking about the crown, "And painful as fuck to wear. My neck hurts just zinking about it."

"I do not zink zey wore it all day, Gavrila," Andreea said, "After all, Gavril does not wear formal clozes all ze time."

"It still looks stupid," was the Knezinja's only reply.
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Demoness
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Jia Li smirked. "Perhaps, but so do a lot of formal wear," she agreed.

"That probably displayed how wealthy the 'king' was," Xel added. "I doubt it was simple to make during contemporary times."
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Cetatsenia
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"I will never understand why people would wear somezing zat looks stupid just because it is formal. Hell, I wear suits because I like ze way zey look," Gavrila said, then turned to Xel, "But why not just drape jewelry around yourself? It serves ze exact same purpose, and doesn't look like it can break your neck."

"Perhaps an earlier king had a love of large hats, and it became tradition," Gavril joked, then he looked a bit more closely at the display, "And it does look like zere is some jewelry zere too."
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Demoness
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Xel looked at her. "What were the culture's beliefs at the time? That also dictates that indicates wealth. There are several older cultures where a 'fat' woman indicates that her husband is wealthy because he can provide for her," he replied. "In fact, I also recall hearing about another that not only would the woman be fat, but she would basically wear all the male's wealthy."

Jia Li scrunched up her nose. "I remember that one. It sounded terribly uncomfortable."

He raised an eyebrow. "So does braiding jewelry into hair," he added, alluding to the Demonessian custom of Clan members weaving jewelry into their already elaborate hairstyles. This was of course only done in the cities and at formal events, but when properly done the braids were far more impressive than the simple tiara of the Empress.

"Yes," she agreed. "I don't think I'd like that shaking my head might risk losing me hundreds of dollars." Subconsciously, she shook her head as she imagined the weight such a style had imposed.
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Cetatsenia
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"Well, we do not know specifics but it is safe to say zat gold and bronze were valued by zem," Gavril replied, "Zat is what most of zeir jewelry is made from. Perhaps impressively tall headwear was a status symbol, we have found a few ozers like zis one in what we believe to be ze burial tombs of kings. Zey also held an impressive amount of jewelry, boz for ze Kings and who are believed to have been zeir wife and concubines."

"Why are so many cultured obsessed wiz stacking crap on your head to show zat you are in charge?" Gavrila said, shaking her head, "I am really glad I do not have to wear shit like zat."
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Demoness
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Jia Li smirked. "Maybe because having the time to create and wear such ridiculous styles meant that you were wealthy as well? I mean, you obviously weren't toiling in the field and you probably had plenty of servants to help you."
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Cetatsenia
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Gavrila shot a glance at the 'crown' before turning back to look at Jia Li again, "I highly doubt zat ze King himself was working over a forge and making his own crown. Zere are so many ways to show off your wealz, why the hell does it seem like every culture on Lavinaria decided ze best way was to stick somezing on your head?"

"Perhaps because it is probably one of ze first zings you see when you see zem," Andreea said, "After all, if so many cultures zought it up independently, zere has to be some merit to it."
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Demoness
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Xel nodded as Jia Li answered Gavrila. "I didn't mean that the king forged his own crown. I meant he had the time to come up with the idea bout the crown and, really, I was talking about status generally."
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Cetatsenia
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"Yeah, yeah, I know. I doubt zat guy zought it up zough," Gavrila said, "To be honest, I am just glad zat ze only Cetatsen who ever wears a crown is ze Voivode."

"Let us be honest here Gavrila, even if Knezi usually did wear crowns you just wouldn't wear yours," Gavril said with a grin.

"Very true," was the Knezinja's only response.
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled. "I don't really blame her though. I wouldn't wear mine if I didn't have to. It's uncomfortable." Xel wanted to tease her about her occasional lack of grace being the true reason behind her being unwilling to wear the tiara, but he didn't think she would take it well in front of guests. The truth was that despite her lithe form and natural flexibility, she sometimes misjudged the position of her body parts and ran into corners or walls instead of slipping around them.
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