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| Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,334 Views) | |
| Cetatsenia | Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM Post #1 |
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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 | Nov 23 2013, 11:22 PM Post #21 |
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"Ah, I suppose zat would make sense, Vlad II is generally known to historians and Cetatsens. Vlad II was ze son of Gavril II, and ze man is considered to be ze one who truly created a unified Cetatsen identity. To put it simply he drew upon ze zings zat made us different from our neighbours to forge a single identity; our unique religion, ze language we speak, even such zings as our succession laws were zings he used to unite us as one. He believed zat in order for Cetatsenia to last ze people must be loyal to somezing greater zan zeir immediate communities and ze ruling lord or lady. It was not a quick process, mind you, and it took a great many years for his ideals to come to fruition; in fact he did not live to see it," Gavril explained, the pride and enthusiasm clear in his voice; he truly enjoyed speaking of the accomplishments of his ancestors and of the history of his people, "He was ze man who planted ze seeds of Cetatsen nationalism, and of a single unified Cetatsen identity." |
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| Demoness | Nov 24 2013, 12:01 AM Post #22 |
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"That is quite important. It almost sounds like he invented nationalism," she replied. By Demoness' account of things, they had never had issues with having a "national" identity as they were all Kae's children and owed loyalty to the Empress, but obeying her varied throughout the eras. She shook her head. "That was the part of Political Science that always amazed me. Our definition of nationalism is so modern, yet I can't imagine any other view. Why did kings and countries fight if they didn't think their country was the best?" |
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| Cetatsenia | Nov 24 2013, 12:18 AM Post #23 |
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Gavril shrugged, "I suppose zat Kings believed themselves to be the best King, and fought ozer Kings for power, prestige, and land. And ze nobles beneaz ze Kings supported zem because of loyalty and obligation or whatnot. And ze peasants did not have much say in ze matter, so it was a tug of war between individuals wiz armies and lands at zeir command. At least, zat is ze way I see it. And I am most familiar wiz ze history of Vesturia zough, so I cannot really speak of ozer regions." |
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| Demoness | Nov 24 2013, 12:35 AM Post #24 |
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"Regardless, I think the concept of nationalism is universal and so is the behavior of people in power." Xel realized the conversation would shift towards sensitive territory since his wife tended to hold poor opinions of leaders she didn't know well. He supposed it was because she had been raised more like a middle class child than royalty and had been closer to the commoners, so she felt she had a better understanding. Regardless, she could only express these opinions freely among her friends and he interjected. "There certainly are patterns and personality types," he agreed, "and some will even persist, but I believe the world has become less tolerant of them." He held his wife's hand as he said to Gavril, "You said that some don't consider your religion a branch of Mezyanism. Why is that?" While Gavril answered, Jia Li flashed Xel a disapproving look, but his response was only one of his rare smiles. |
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| Cetatsenia | Nov 24 2013, 12:55 AM Post #25 |
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Gavril sat back and thought for a moment, unconsciously stroking his mustache. In order to fully explain, he supposed it'd be necessary to give some background information on the matter. After all, he didn't expect them to be fully versed in the history of his nation, just as he was not fully versed in the history of Demoness. He also found it strange that the Empress's husband had changed the topic rather suddenly, but he supposed it was none of his business. "Well, it really goes to ze roots of ze religion. It is a combination of ze original pagan beliefs of the Cetatsena and the tenets of Mezyanism; I believe zat ze term for it would be a syncretic religion. Zere are some who see our belief zat God manifests himself in numerous Aspects, who correspond to ze pagan deities, and our reverence for zem as ze same as worshiping many gods. So to some, Aspect Mezyanism is not truly monotheistic, and zus it cannot be Mezyanism and is its own unique religion. Zough zose people tend be in ze minority. In truz, it is just a matter of semantics." |
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| Demoness | Nov 24 2013, 01:09 AM Post #26 |
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"I suppose it is odd for a monotheistic religion, but it makes sense as a pantheistic religion and those terms aren't mutually exclusive," Xel continued. "It is similar to Morante in that respect: there are many spirits or 'gods', but they are all aspects of Daemonesu-kae, even her daughter and Jia Li." When he spoke of the religion, his tone was dry, as if he were simply repeating what he had read. The truth was that despite being the highest religious authority aside from his wife, he had remained an atheist, but it made sense: it was difficult to consider the empress a goddess when witnessing her at her weakest moments and concealing them from the public. "Of course, it also matters how one considers religious texts: literally or as a metaphor. I'm sure that 'god' can simply been the good in man." |
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| Cetatsenia | Nov 24 2013, 01:19 AM Post #27 |
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Gavril nodded for a moment before saying, "Yes, I suppose one could consider zat to be so." He wasn't a particularly religious person, he believed in Aspect Mezyanism because he was raised believing it and just couldn't bring himself to believe anything else. Noting her brother's rather short answer, Andreea decided to add something to the conversation. "To be honest, neizer of us are experts on religion. It is a shame zat our brozer Octavian is back home in ze norz of ze Knezate; he is an ordained priest and would be able to have a much better conversation on ze topic of religion." Edited by Cetatsenia, Nov 24 2013, 01:19 AM.
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| Demoness | Nov 24 2013, 01:40 AM Post #28 |
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Jia Li shook her head. "We are only experts by necessity," she replied with a laugh. "And my husband actually rather enjoys debating the allegory of religion." The latter comment seemed to be a teasing remark for she smirked in his direction. "At times," he agreed. "But we can move on." He was not a conversationalist, nor as charismatic as his wife, and seguing to a new topic was difficult for him. With the exception of his close friends, he spoke very little and came off as taciturn and curt; neither trait was beneficial for his political station. He hesitated and where most people would make a verbal pause, he remained quiet. Thankfully, his wife rescued him. "Oh yes, you have several siblings, ne?" she asked enthusiastically. "I always wondered what that was like. Well, I mean separate from having one sister." |
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| Cetatsenia | Nov 24 2013, 02:05 AM Post #29 |
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Gavril smiled and laughed at Jia Li's enthusiasm. "Why yes, yes we do," he said, a smile still on his face, "Besides Andreea and Octavian zere's also my two oldest brozers, identical twins named Andrei and Vlad. And zey may look alike, but I don't zink you could find any two people more different." "Vlad is an artist and Andrei is an officer in ze military," Andreea explained, "Andrei is rather stern and stoic, while Vlad is more emotional and expressive." "Not to mention he has horrible taste in shirts," Gavril added with a look to his sister. Both of them laughed for a moment at the private joke. It was an inside joke among their family, on account of Vlad having an interest in some rather questionable fashion ideas. A poet shirt patterned with paisleys, for instance. "Anyway," Gavril said, stopping his laughter and once again turning his attention to the Empress, "It is nice having several siblings. We may have fought at times and not always got along wiz each ozer, but it was nice always having someone zere for you zat you could count on. I am not going to lie, it is not somezing I can easily describe, so I hope I didn't disappoint you." |
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| Demoness | Nov 24 2013, 02:18 AM Post #30 |
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Jia Li's expression saddened briefly at the mention of Andrei and Vlad. Like them, she had an identical twin and while they had been very close, almost inseparable as children, their adult lives had followed divergent paths. Hikari, her sister, was now a political enemy and those who had known her were always careful when mentioning her in Jia Li's presence. Even though she was considered a traitor, her memory was bittersweet. She smiled again, perhaps little forcefully, as she replied, "No, it gives me a good idea. I had an older cousin, Yuri, who was around frequently, but it's not the same. We've grown a bit distant even though we're still good friends, and I consider the Fenwicki princes my brothers." She could smile at that at least; Fenwick would not betray her, and there had a been a time in her young teenage years when she fantasized about marrying Prince Ned. "I just wondered how it compared." |
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