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 (8,309 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

"I zink zey were trying to be special," Gavrila said, looking back to the group, "Oftentimes buildings are named after people here too, so zey may have wanted to be different. And as a result ze building got stuck wiz a stupid name like 'ze Octogon'."

"Well to be fair it is ze only building in Cetatsenia named after its shape," Andreea said.

"Probably because everyone else realized how stupid an idea that is," Gavrila responded.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li giggled. "It still makes it stand out, which is the point, ne? It's also possible it's a nickname during construction that just stuck," she suggested. "Tell me more about it. When was it built? What sort of productions does it hold? I am more interested in live theatre than musicals or operas."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavrila brow furrowed in thought for a moment about Jia Li's comment about it possibly having been a nickname during construction. "Zat... Zat would actually make a lot of sense," she said, still wondering how exactly she'd never thought of that possibility. She just shrugged and ended up chalking it up to the fact that she rarely thought about the building.

As for the Empress's questions, Andreea answered those; Gavrila didn't know the answers, and didn't really particularly care. "Well, it was built sometime in ze late 17th century or ze early 18th century. Zough it has been renovated several times zroughout its existence. And it mostly does live zeatre; musicals and opera never really gained much popularity here in Cetatsenia. Zere are places one can watch zem in ze country, but zey are not particularly common."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li smiled. "Good. Musicals tend to be colorful and lively, but all that singing tends to get on my nerves after a while. I have to be in the appropriate mood," she said. She looked out the window. "Gavril said he was only going to grab his coat, ne?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavrila nodded her head solemnly, "Yes, musicals are far worse than regular plays. Everything in them has to be a song for absolutely no reason." Andreea just shook her head and sighed while Gavrila looked around at the palace again. "Yeah, zat is what he said. What ze hell is he doing? If he does not hurry up I am going to go in zere after him."

However, Gavrila's threat was unnecessary, as at that moment Gavril stepped out of the palace. The driver of the car noticed the Voivode approaching a scrambled to get his door open and make it to the car door before Gavril did. He managed to make it, and Gavril nodded to the man as he sat down in the car next to Andreea. The driver shut the door and made his way back around to the driver's seat as Gavril spoke.

"I apologize for taking longer zan I zought," Gavril said, "But I realized zat a small security detail was probably warranted, and so gave ze head of security a call." He gestured to a small group of men in black suits who had come out of the palace, and were currently getting into another car.

"Do not worry about zem interrupting us, zey will be unobtrusive," Gavril said smiling, "So, have you decided where we are going? I hope you did not feel it was necessary to wait for me."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

"Well, we were discussing going to the Octagon, but we did get hung up on its name and whether or not it was currently hosting a musical," Jia Li replied.

Ariana looked the men in black and quietly excused herself to go join the security detail. Despite her deceptive appearance, it was customary she or the off-duty High Guard speak with any security detail that would be with them for longer than a few hours. She gave a motherly smile as she entered the car, bowed her head, and offered her hand to whomever appeared to be in charge. "Nedia," she introduced herself.

"It is my preference to watch a play, if we have the time, and it appears that Gavrila agrees," Jia Li added with a smile. "I doubt there will be a showing now, but perhaps after dinner."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavrila stuck her tongue out playfully at Jia Li; she didn't bother mentioning to Gavril that the Empress was making a joke because he knew quite well she wasn't a fan of theatre. Gavril wasn't a big fan of them either, but he didn't actually dislike them like his cousin did.

"Well, zat sounds like a wonderful idea," Gavril said, "Zough I zink you may have neglected to zink of one zing. English is not ze primary language of Cetatsenia, and you do not understand Cetatsen, do you?"

Andreea slapped her forehead in realization and Gavrila actually laughed, "Pizdă mea, how did I not realize zat?"

------

Ariana's offered hand was taken by a middleaged man with short black hair and a goatee and, oddly for a Cetatsen, bright blue eyes. In addition he also had a rather prominent scar on the palm of his hand.

"Lieutenant Adrian Dalca of ze Garzile de la Palat," he said, introducing himself, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li laughed. "No, I do not, and I suppose it would be rather difficult to understand," she agreed. "Most of the plays in Demoness are in Morai, but the more successful ones tend to be in English, so I just assumed." She chuckled again. "I suppose then I will not have as much fun since plays don't come with subtitles. Maybe we can take in an alternate form of entertainment."

---

Ariana nodded. "A pleasure for me as well," she agreed. She nodded toward the car where her charge remained. "I understand you will be our security detail for this trip," she continued, businesslike but still polite in tone. "We have done preliminary research on the city and I have full confidence in your team, but is there anything that we need to be aware of?"
Edited by Demoness, Dec 18 2013, 01:24 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"I suppose we will have to," Gavril said shrugging, "Zough if you ever visit again I am certain I can arrange a play in English, ze language is taught in Cetatsenian schools after all. But anyway, is zere anyzing else you zink you would enjoy doing?"

------

Adrian nodded. "Yes, we will be ze ones looking after ze Voivode and your Empress for zis outing. As for anyzing you need to be aware of, I do not zink so," he said, just as polite and businesslike as Ariana, "Albraustana-zid is a very safe city, and zeir is little risk of any sort of attack. However, are you aware zat ze Voivode and his cousin's servant boz carry zeir own firearms?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li hesitated a moment, glancing at her husband, before responding. "I enjoy horseback riding," she said, which was true, but it had caused issues for the imperial family in the past. Her mother could not, as the exercise combined with the allergens fatigued her too quickly, and her grandmother had died under mysterious circumstances while riding. Jia Li had been sensitive to horses in her youth and had fortunately grown out of it, but given her grandmother's demise and the civil unrest following Jia Li's ascension to the throne, Xel had been very cautious in allowing her on the relatively isolated rides; her favorite path had been through what was now a charred forest.

He, surprisingly, smiled; Cetatsenia's location far from domestic troubles actually made a ride here safer than it would be at home and he would like to see her enjoy herself.

"I also read quite a bit in my spare time, but I don't believe a trip to the library would be very entertaining for all of us," Jia Li added with a laugh.

---

Ariana nodded. "Yes, as do we, but one can never be too cautious," she replied. "Travel advisories to Cetatsenia are quite low, about the world average, so I did not expect much trouble. As a matter of curiosity, does your team employ a medic or someone with medical training?"
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