Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
New to the forum? Check out our Introduction Page and New Members Guide! 1.1: Statistical Updates have been completed for the month.
Add Reply
Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,319 Views)
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

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.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Replies:
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"Indeed, ze world would be a much better place if everyone zought zat way," Gavril said, "Now, let us continue-"

"Oh, come on, hey!" Gavrila said with mock-irritation, "Aurora was a great person, but she didn't start ze movement in Cetatsenia. Ze Knezi of House de Sud had adopted zat way of zinking at least a generation earlier." And for emphasis she playfully stuck out her at her cousin again.

"Well, yes. My cousin does have a point," Gavril admitted, "Aurora was ze first Voivode to adopt zay way of zinking, and certainly she took it ze farzest, but she wasn't ze first to zink zat way. As my cousin so elegantly stated, it began in Sudest and Sudvest."

Then he turned to Gavrila with a small smile, "Zere, happy now?"

"Da!" she said grinning, "Very much so."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li laughed. "Maybe you should continue the tour then," she joked.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavril and Gavrila both laughed in return. "Of course," Gavril said, "Zough zere's really only one more particularly interesting Voivode before we get to more modern rulers."

And so the tour, once again continued. Beginning again with Aurora III's successor, her youngest brother Carol V, they made their way down the line much the same as before. And then they came to the "particularly interesting" Voivode, and by this point they were nearly finished, with this Voivode having ruled in the mid-1800s. The portrait was of an extraordinarily average man; he was middle-aged and balding, with a mustache and a pair of glasses.

"Zis is Voivode Carol VII," Gavril said, "Also known as Voivode Carol the Mad."

"Oh man, zis guy," Gavrila said, shaking her head and laughing softly, "I know I should not be laughing, ze poor guy was completely insane, but some of ze zings he did..." Her words trailed off as she continued laughing.

"Uh, yes. Carol VII was not ze most mentally stable person," Gavril said, "He was crazy, but he was ze harmless kind of crazy. Had his wife not served as regent, zen he probably would have ended up harming himself and not anyone else."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li looked slightly confused. "Do you mean that his wife harmed others? And how was he unstable?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"Oh, not at all. His wife was a good woman and cared deeply for her husband; I mean zat her serving as regent saved him from harming himself, since nozing he did carried any authority," Gavril explained, "And as for how he was unstable; well, he was delusional. Extremely delusional."

"At one point he tried to challenge someone to a duel using his shoes as a weapon," Gavrila said, "Ze man's grasp on reality was nearly nonexistent. In fact, for a short period of time he believed zat he ruled ze entirety of ze known world."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 8 2013, 11:54 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

"Oh my..." It was interesting to Jia Li to hear the variety in Cetatsen voivodes, particularly the ones whose behaviors were surprising. None of the Imperial Family had been mad or mentally ill, though Daemonesu-sumae supposedly was driven into isolation by betrayal and grief. There had also been Empress Onisa, who changed her name to Shiradhdu - "Eternally Mourning" - and sought to wipe out every Ruadhan for the death of her daughter, the Lady of the Willow. Most empresses, however, tended to be even-tempered even if some were stronger rulers than others.

The mentally ill were also treated poorly in historic Demoness, usually considered to be possessed by spirits and were either exorcised, killed, or "sealed"; few were actually helped. The concept of mental illness in Demoness was more accepted now, especially with the advent of psychology, but it still held a deep stigma.

"How does such a thing happen?" Jia Li asked. "Had he been injured as a child? Or poisoned?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"Nobody is really sure why exactly he went mad. Especially considering he did not start out zat way; it began when he was a young adult and zen rapidly worsened," Gavril said, "I believe it may have partially been ze same zing zat most likely caused Aurora III's albinism and Dragomir's mental retardation; and zat would be simply inbreeding."

"It was not uncommon for first cousins to get married and dracu each other. And while zat is not gonna cause too much trouble if it happens once or twice, when you got it happening over ze course of several centuries, well, it can cause some issues," Gavrila explained further, "Zough zat does not really happen too much in modern-day Cetatsenia. Now it is looked down upon, even if it is still technically legal."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li nodded. "It makes sense from a noble's standpoint. The Clans had similar issues, especially when intermarrying for alliances, and the ones who refrained tended to have less 'issues' than the ones who regularly married within their own Clan and Clan favorites. The Imperial Family does not carry the same custom, since I am free to many anyone who is a priest, but my aunt may have been affected by it." She nodded back toward Aurora. "She has white hair like Aurora, but she's not an albino, and she, ano..."

There was really no polite way to describe Eris Katsuragi. She was a movie star, famous of her own accord, but she also loved attention. Her career had begun in gymnastics and progressed to modeling before she broke into movies and when that had not provided her with enough fame, she began singing. She was also into dangerous activities, such as skydiving, and was well-known in the racing world not only for competing professionally, but also for impromptu street races and stunts. A few years ago, she had run a street "course" blindfolded and crashed her car through a storefront; luckily, she was only minorly injured. She was also caught frequently in the company of married men and some would posit that it was on purpose because she loved the scandal. Her mother, Matriarch Guri Katsuragi, tried to minimize the damage to their family's reputation as much as possible and had come close to disowning her several times. Privately (and certainly not to the Imperial Family), Guri described her daughter as having "an illness of everything" and possibly sociopathic.

Jia Li paused for a moment in thought and then sighed deeply. "She's Eris Katsuragi," she continued, as if that might explain everything.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavril simply nodded, when one described someone as just themselves there was oftentimes a reasoning behind it. And he didn't wish to pry any further, in case it was something she didn't wish to talk about. And Andreea felt the same way.

Gavrila, however, didn't; she was a big believer in the idea that if you didn't want to talk about something you either didn't bring it up, or you told someone you didn't want to talk about it. "Wiz all due respect, I have absolutely no idea what zat means. I'm not familiar wiz ze woman," Gavrila said bluntly, "She what, exactly?"
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 9 2013, 12:56 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

"Mmm... Perhaps I overestimated her international appeal," Jia Li replied. "She's definitely crossed borders in our region. She's a movie star, among other things, and fodder for those disgusting grocery 'newspapers'. She's gotten into several scrapes with the law and not just in Demoness, but she's managed to stay out of trouble and not serve any time." She shrugged. "She apparently describes herself as an 'adrenaline junkie' as a way to explain her behavior."

"She's worthless," Xel added, scowling.

Jia Li gave him a chastising look. "<River of my heart->" she said in her language.

"She is," he insisted, "and she does not warrant the tact you are giving her." He seemed uncharacteristically angry. Jia Li sighed, acknowledging that he was correct, but she was more forgiving than her husband.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Archive · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Theme Designed by McKee91