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 (8,305 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

Gavrila frowned, and then shrugged "Well, you cannot really do anyzing besides try your best, right? It is not your fault she was a măgar. So I do not see any reason to fret, so long as you all did your best to make sure it was all done right."

"My cousin does have a point," Gavril said, "What Oriana did was horrible, but you are at least trying to right her wrongs."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li laughed mirthlessly. "At least you can see the value in it. Orthodox Morante is almost a millennium old, so trying to 'restore' our religion has been met with various hostilities." She shook her head. "I could have an iron hand about it like Oriana, but I doubt that would go over very well in the modern age and I honestly really don't have the stomach for it. The reaction to dissolving the Hierarchs was bad enough." She paused, and then explained. "Their purpose was to make sure that everything was 'proper'. They were essentially in charge of the editing of the World, but over the years they absorbed duties from the Sages, like being judges, so I tried to restore that. Suffice to say, a large portion of the Church was unhappy with that change."

Xel stroked her hand. Some Hierarchs simply changed their robes and were amenable to the change - thankfully, some of these were on the Council of Twelve - but it had caused a large migration to the Apostates. When that group transformed from a simply protest movement into terrorism, Jia Li had been devastated. It had also driven a wedge between her and her father and since their reconciliation was still nascent and fragile, she hadn't been certain it would last. Fortunately, he chose to support her in public and only criticize her to her face and during Council meetings.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavril was about to say something further, but he noticed Aurel give his cousin a look, at which she just rolled her eyes and nodded, and then he looked to the Voivode and asked simply, "Pot să vorbesc?" Gavril tilted his head and sighed, "Desigur, nu aveți nevoie de permisiunea de a vorbi, Aurel."

The elderly man nodded and then looked at the Demonessians, thinking for a moment before he opened his mouth and spoke. And when he did, the words came to his mouth slowly, as though he had to think of each and every individual word. "People as a whole despise change and deviation from what zey know as ze norm. One cannot expect such a major change to go smoothly, or even to be completely accepted before one's life is up," he said, "Time is ze answer. So long as one continues to try, zen one's efforts will not be in vain. And ze larger ze change, ze longer it will take for acceptance to come."

Gavril sat and listened to the old man, nodding as he went. Aurel didn't really say much, at least around him, but when the old man did it was usually something like this. Gavrila closed her eyes and nodded as well, and once he was finished said, "Damn Aurel, I really zink you need to talk more."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li nodded. "Thank you, grandfather," she replied respectfully. "It is hard to be patient with the varied results I've seen."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"I know exactly how it feels trying to reach a goal zat seems, at times, zat it may be impossible," Aurel said slowly, with a twinge of sadness and anger beneath his otherwise calm face, "You need simply be patient and keep trying."

At that both Gavril and Andreea nodded respectfully, though were both aware of his history with the AEC during the Second Great War, and knew that it was a great personal tragedy that lead him to join them in the first place. And there had been times during the war that it seemed that no matter how hard the rebels and guerrillas tried, that their enemy always had more men ready to fight them, and that Cetatsenia would never be free. Even Gavrila herself was uncharacteristically quiet, because she was aware of exactly what Aurel went through during the Intermarine occupation, and what 'keep trying' had meant for the young Aurel full of hatred and anger at the people that had ruined his life.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li tilted her head, picking up on the subtle emotions, but he had chosen not to express them and it seemed rude to ask. "I will," she assured him, which was true. While she had backpedaled on some of her more radical stances and changes following her reinstatement to the throne, she had committed herself too much to the cause to change courses now.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Aurel simply smiled and nodded his head; he was done talking for the moment. And even if he wasn't, they had arrived at the library.

The Royal Albraustana-zid Library was a rather large building, constructed of white brick with a large dome at the top. There were numerous windows all along it, and there was a wide flight of stairs that lead up to the building's entrance. The entrance itself was beneath a portion of the roof that extended forwards; it was supported by several columns and had the words "Regal Albraustana-zid Bibliotecă" carved into the front of it.

As the cars pulled up, the people milling around looked at the cars curiously. They wore typical casual clothing, like jeans and t-shirts, and nearly every single one of them had long dark hair. Thoush there were a few with either lighter or shorter hair. At present, they weren't aware of who it was in the car, as they were both unmarked; Gavril knew they wouldn't swarm around him once he exited the car however, his security wouldn't allow it and he'd set the precedent that if should people try it and not back off, Gavril would simply leave. Though it wasn't as though everyone would keep their distance from him, since he did enjoy talking to and interacting with his people.

"So, what do you zink of ze library?" Gavril asked Jia Li, with a smile on his face.

------

As the car came to a stop, Lieutenant Dalca looked around at his men. "All right, it is time to go," he said, speaking English for the benefit of Ariana, then he turned to her and nodded, "It was a pleasure."

The door opened and the Guardsmen exited the vehicle, making their way to the Voivode's car and waiting for him to exit. They would follow the Voivode until he was inside the Library, and then spread out and keep watch on him and anyone nearby.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Ariana nodded as she took her leave and quietly took her place beside Jia Li. There was a difference between how the Cetatsens reacted than how it would have been in Demoness. Unless otherwise requested, there would have been a perimeter automatically set and the library cleared out prior to their arrival, but this was also a difference in cultures. The Empress was of the people, of their blood, but she was also different, separate, and had always been protected as the goddess she was; this helped maintain the illusion that she was divine. Even empresses who were close to the people, like Jia Li's grandmother Lexisa, was still "separate" as she mingled among them. Jia Li had, on several occasions, ventured into the city with only Xel or another High Guard as company and had purposely moved unnoticed, but this was not their territory and Ariana kept a wary eye.

Jia Li smiled. "Beautiful," she replied; she knew how hard it was to keep white stone clean and was impressed that the dome remained its color rather than yellowing or catching the grey filth from smog. She looked at the windows approvingly; it was preferable to read with natural light and, when one needed a break, to enjoy the sights. She could not wait to see the inside and the interior's style.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavril smiled, "Why zank you, I like to zink so too." Then he looked to Aurel, who was sitting next to the door, "Aurel, if you would please."

The old man simply nodded his head, and opened the door, and then exited the vehicle slowly. He gave a respectful nod to the Lieutenant, which was returned in kind. He waited until everyone was out of car before shutting the door and making his way to Gavrila's side. Gavril gave a nod to the Lieutenant as well, "Lieutenant Dalca." To which Dalca responded with a respectful nod of his own, "Voivode."

Once the Voivode exited his car, the change in the people outside was almost instantaneous; an excited murmur went through them, and they were all staring at the group excitedly. Though not all of them were looking at the Voivode or his cousin, after all Gavril commonly went out into the city and had done so even before his father had died. No, quite a few of them were staring at Jia Li and company; most of them knew that the Demonessian Empress was visiting, but none of them expected to actually see her. And there weren't many Demonessians in Cetatsenia, so their whole group was somewhat exotic to the Cetatsens.

Gavril stopped to smile and wave to his people before looking over to Jia Li once more. "So, shall we go in?" he asked, and then a worried expression came across his face, "You, uh, you do not mind ze people, do you?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

"No," Jia Li assured him with a smile. "My security might, but they'll get over it." Xel had, in fact, stiffened slightly and seemed to correct his posture to a defensive one, but Makoto smiled mischievously at her; he had been one of her advocates in leaving the Palace, even with her poor health, though it was questionable if the visits were for her or so he could get out. Ariana remained neutral, standing demurely behind the group.

"I'd love to see the interior," she continued. "Do you know how old the books are here?"
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