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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,311 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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"Oh he paints, but ze kinds of zings he paints are, well, I am not sure how to describe zem ozer zen strange," Gavril said, "Zey are generally scenes, but zey are scenes which are beyond fantastical and impossible. Some of zem can be razer confusing to look at as well, especially when ze scene in question is inside of a building. To be honest, I am not quite sure how exactly to describe zem."

"Well, strange is one way to put it; it certainly fits pretty much everyzing he paints," Gavrila said smiling, "Zough zey can get downright scary when Vlad is depressed. I personally love almost everyzing zings he paints."

Andreea sighed and shook her head, but she smiled as she did so. "I believe ze term you are boz looking for is 'surrealism'".
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 15 2013, 11:16 PM.
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Demoness
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Jia Li tilted her head. "I used to take time when I was a teen and look for 'surreal' artwork. It helped with my insomnia."

"But not your nightmares," Xel again interjected. He sounded annoyed, but the truth was that it had amused him as well... When he wasn't sleep-deprived. Most of his youthful off-time was also spent with Jia Li, who seemed to never require sleep.

"I would love to see some of his work, if it's available."
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Cetatsenia
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"Ha, I can imagine some of Vlad's paintings showing up in someone's nightmares. Zough most of zem are fine," Gavrila said laughing, "Zey only get disturbing when he's depressed. And since he is awfully upbeat zat is not particularly common."

Gavril tilted his head his head in thought, "Hmmm, I am not sure if zere is any of his artwork around ze palace. Zere might be; zere probably is, actually. But right now I cannot for ze life of me zink of where it would be..."

"I zink zere is one in one of ze guest rooms," Andreea said, "It was a gift and you wanted to hang it in your room, but Vlad said he'd razer it be in one of ze guest rooms so zat more people would see it."

At that Gavril's eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Yes, of course," he said, and then to the Empress, "So, do you wish to go and see it? It is not zat far away."
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Demoness
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Jia Li nodded. "I would love to," she agreed. "I'm not exactly an art connoisseur, but I at least have learned to appreciate it and Gavrila has made it sound quite interesting."
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Cetatsenia
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"Well I don't zink ze one here would be one of his stranger paintings; Vlad tends to keep zose in his home," Gavrila said, "But his ozer stuff is pretty neat too."

Gavril shook his head and smiled at his cousin's comment, but didn't say anything about it. So her turned to Jia Li and said, "Well zen, please follow me. Now zat I remember ze painting I am fairly certain of which room it is in."

He lead the group across the length of the Great Hall again, and back into the large lobby. He began to make his way up one of the staircases, but was stopped by Gavrila. "Oh, you guys go on wizout me," she said, "I am going to wait here for Aurel; he shouldn't be much longer."

Gavril nodded, "Of course. It shouldn't be difficult to find us, ze room is not far off."

Gavrila simply nodded and smiled, and then leaned up against the wall, waiting for her servant. Gavril lead the rest of the group up the stairs in through a hallway decorated with the carpet, as well as some paintings and small tables decorated with flowers. As Gavril said, it wasn't very long before he found the room and opened the door.

The room itself had the smell of a room rarely used, the floor was covered in dark blue carpet, and the furniture was well-made and constructed of wood. On the far wall was a pair of tall windows set into the stone, with the blue bed in between them, andff to the right was a door that lead to the room's private bathroom. And the painting in question was set between the windows, directly above the bed.

The painting itself was rather interesting to look at; firstly it was divided into two distinct regions, the top and the bottom. The bottom section of the portrait showed a surface of flagstones, however it was at the top of the section, putting it in the middle of the painting. And below that was a featureless sea of grey clouds. But coming out of the flagstones were a large pair of hands, which were brought together above the clouds, with the planet grasped within their hands. The upper section was mostly a blue and cloudless sky, however a moon hung in the center of the painting; a moon that was half a large eye. However, the division between moon and eye was not clear, and the two seemed to blend together slowly near the middle. And in addition to this were two figures, which both seemed to come out of the ground above where the hands exited below. They were both women with nearly identical features, though neither was a flesh-and-blood human. Instead, the figure on the left was composed of branches and plants in the shape of a woman, while the one on the right was pieces of concrete, twisted metal, and other artificial materials. Both of them met in the middle, with their hands and foreheads meeting along the centerline of the painting. And the painting as a whole was incredibly well done, looking almost uncannily realistic and incredibly detailed down to the most miniscule details.

"Well, zere it is," Gavril said, gesturing to the painting, "Do not ask me what it means zough. Because neizer my sister or I have any idea."
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Demoness
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"Hmm..." Jia Li muttered as she admired the painting. The combination of textures was well-blended and gave her another level of meaning to consider. She looked at the women, thinking she understood the meaning, and then her eye was distracted by the moon symbolism and she realized she didn't know what it meant either. Still, she found it fascinating and felt that it probably was more complex than it was given credit for. She laughed. "I don't know either, but I like it. It reminds me of a handful of other paintings I've seen, though it is not like any dream I've ever had. Are all his paintings like this?"
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Cetatsenia
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"All of his paintings zat are zings he decides to do on his own," Gavril replied, shrugging, "And zat is most of his paintings. Zings like ze portrait he did of me where he does not choose what to paint are razer rare. And I do not zink any of zem are any easier to understand eizer."

"I zink his most normal painting is a painting he did of Voivode Traian, where only half of his body was zere. Ze right side was simply ze skeleton and blood vessels. Zough it was still razer strange, as instead of putting a black box over his face as is customary Vlad decided to make his face completely blank, and ze bone in ze front of his skull looked fused togezer into a featureless surface," Andreea said, "And ze meaning of zat one is clear once Vlad tells you. He is not fond of ze demonization of Traian in many people's minds, and did it as a reminder zat Traian may have been a monster, but on ze inside he was still simply a man."

Gavril nodded, "So, yes. Zis is a typical Vlad Suveraneshti painting. Sometimes I wonder where his ideas come from, since he is a completely normal person and he has said zat most do not come from his dreams."
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Demoness
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Jia Li shrugged. "Does he know where his ideas come from?"
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Cetatsenia
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"I would assume he does," Gavril said, "And I guess it is from his mind, zough if you were to meet him you probably wouldn't zink he would make strange paintings like zis. He is just so, well, he is normal."

"I do not know, zere is somezing really off about ze man's choice in shirts," came Gavrila's voice from outside the room. She popped in with Aurel in tow, and grinned at everyone in the room. "Seriously, it is not normal. And see? I told you it would not take zat long for Aurel to show up." And at Gavrila's mention of their family's running joke about Vlad's shirts, both Gavril and Andreea let out a short laugh.
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 16 2013, 02:44 AM.
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Demoness
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Jia Li laughed politely, though she was clearly not in on the joke. With Aurel's reappearance, Xel anticipated some kind of reaction from his mother, but she acknowledged his presence and then proceeded to ignore it; he concluded that it had simply been the discussion of age that had set her off.
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