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| Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,292 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 | Dec 24 2013, 02:14 AM Post #441 |
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"I did not say try and make me make up wiz zem, because zere is no way in Hell zat is going to happen," Gavrila said, "I just said introduce him to zem. But I get what you are saying, so it is probably a 'no'. Which is good, because I haven't seen zem in years, and I do not plan on seeing zem anytime soon." Then she looked at Xel, "Just because it can work in some cases does not mean it can work in most cases. And it is not a good zing to try and force it; it can just make it worse." |
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| Demoness | Dec 24 2013, 03:57 AM Post #442 |
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Xel simply nodded instead of replying. Force did produce widely varying results: Xel had been sixteen when he'd decided he'd had enough of Ashuril's sulking and emotional abuse and confronted him in an act that could have technically been prosecuted as treason; the assault and subsequent verbal altercation apparently had knocked some sense into him. To him, this was the only result that mattered because it had forced Ashuril to attend Jia Li's bedside. Jia Li stole a glance at her husband, possibly sensing his line of thought had grown darker, and diverted the conversation. "Not meeting them might actually be a relief," she said jokingly. "Some parents are overprotective and don't take too kindly to any man dating their daughter." |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 24 2013, 11:47 AM Post #443 |
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Jia Li's comment elicited a laugh from Gavrila, but it was a laugh completely devoid of any humour. "I wish zey were overprotective," she said dryly, "I wish zey would care who I was dating." It was fairly obvious that this conversation wasn't heading to the most pleasant of places, and Gavril exchanged a look with his sister. It would probably be best to drop this topic for the moment and perhaps pick it back up later, somewhere that wasn't in public. "Anyway, do you have any questions about Albraustana-zid itself?" Gavril asked, trying to change the subject, "Or ze library? Or anyzing?" |
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| Demoness | Dec 24 2013, 08:19 PM Post #444 |
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Jia Li smiled in relief. "Well, I would ask for a tour of the library, but I suspect that you haven't visited it very often. We could explore it for a while if you don't mind the silence," she suggested. She didn't mind talking, nor did she mind silence, which was welcome and generally did not become awkward in her society. In fact, it was a fine thing to be able to enjoy the silence between two friends. However, she knew that wasn't always the case in other countries. |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 24 2013, 08:36 PM Post #445 |
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"Zat sounds like it would be a lovely idea," Gavril stood up and smiled, "Shall we?" Then he noticed that Gavrila didn't seem to be paying attention and appeared preoccupied with her thoughts, something that was rather abnormal. She was thinking about what she'd just said to Jia Li and Xel, and the horrifying possibility that if she did start dating Ned that her parents might take an interest in her. Not because they actually cared about their daughter, but because she was dating royalty. It was an unpleasant thought. Gavril said her name, and she snapped out of it immediately, "Nu-i asa? Oh, da; în căutarea în jurul bibliotecii, a ajuns." She stood, followed by Aurel and Andreea, and Gavril reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small radio. "Locotenent Dalca, vom fi mersul pe jos în jurul bibliotecii," he said into it quickly, informing his security detail that the group was going to be wandering around the library. "Would you like to start at ze top and go down, or just start here and head up?" Gavril asked, glad to have gotten off of the subject of Gavrila's parents. Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 24 2013, 08:40 PM.
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| Demoness | Dec 24 2013, 10:46 PM Post #446 |
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Jia Li smiled gently. "I thought I spied some spiral staircases when we entered and I rather enjoy them. The metalwork is so much more interesting than the stone I see on a daily basis," she replied. "If you don't mind, I'd like to start there." It also seemed a bit lighter on the higher levels, as if there were skylights further up that she could not see. While the wide windows of the front were nice, she also liked to see the sky. |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 25 2013, 09:19 AM Post #447 |
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Gavril nodded, "Of course." He lead the group a short ways to an area near the front of the library that contained one of the library's two staircases. The spiral staircase was quite wide and constructed of fine, intricate metalworking. The staircase actually lead all the way up to the top floor with a stop at every level, and even went further down. However, the way down was barred by a door of metal bars with a sign reading "Nu Acces." Unlike most of the signs in the library, which were written in both Cetatsen and English, this one was written only in Cetatsen, though it was only because it was obvious what it said even to a non-Cetatsen speaker. A pair of Gavril's security guards arrived at the staircase first, and made their way up. Gavril stood next to the staircase and gestured to it, "After you." All four of the library's levels were similar, having bookshelf arranged around the center of the floor and open spaces with desks spaced throughout them. Though the highest level did also have skylights in addition to the windows in the wall to allow even more light into the building. |
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| Demoness | Dec 25 2013, 09:40 AM Post #448 |
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Ariana took the staircase after the guards, but before Gavril had even reached the staircase. She kept her distance, hesitating at each floor to see if Jia Li still ascended. When Jia Li stopped, it was on the highest level so Ariana did not have to backtrack. Again, she took a path that was along the perimeter. Makoto quietly trailed behind Jia Li and Xel, always keeping within an arm's length of her. Jia Li paused before ascending to admire the artistry of the metalwork. She liked the cold metal and how the staircase slightly wobbled with each step. It filled her with a touch of dizziness and panic and she imagined falling. She had climbed trees in the Sacred Grove as a child, but a stop had been put to that practice as soon as it had been discovered; she integrated the fond memory into her brief flight of fancy. She smiled as she reached the top and for a second she faced toward the skylight, closed her eyes, and imagined the sun was touching her face as she breached the canopy. Then she stepped onto the more solid footing of the floor and walked through the bookshelves. People turned and stared at the party and it was only natural to be curious; she was curious about what people would be studying on this floor. There really wasn't much to be found in a library, no matter what the architecture looked like; the main draw were the books it contained and the most efficient way to store them was also usually very uniform. At home, she would have taken time to walk through all the aisles, expecting to see identical rows but playfully hoping there would be something different around the corner and sometimes there was; mostly it was a private nook in which to read a book, which itself was pleasant, but she could stumble upon a person and she liked to study them as well. However, she was here, in Cetatsenia, and she thought it would be rude to ask her host to wait on her like that, so she explored the floor until an adequate period had passed - to partially sate her curiosity, but not so much as to annoy a host - and paused by one of the windows to watch the passersby. "I noticed the basement was blocked off," she said after a time. "Do you know why?" |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 25 2013, 09:54 AM Post #449 |
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Gavril and company followed Jia Li as she wandered among the bookshelves of the library. He didn't mind the quiet, and was quite fond of it himself. Part of the reason he enjoyed hunting was the fact that it was quiet aside from the sounds of nature; he found it calming. So he enjoyed the silence, though Gavrila was getting a bit antsy; she definitely wasn't the kind to enjoy long silences. He noticed the people staring at them, and occasionally waved. None of them made any move to purposely come over to the group however, most likely because they could see he was visiting with someone and anyone who read the news would be aware of who she was. He didn't mind speaking and conversing with his people, but he could do that at a later time. When Jia Li stopped, so did the rest. And when she asked about the basement it was Gavrila that answered her, probably because she'd been dying to talk. "Zat is ze Restricted Section," she said, "Ze books down zere are all old and important and crap." "Yes, zose books zere are kept in zeir own specific area to keep zem safe and in good condition," Gavril said, "Ze general public is not allowed down zere, for obvious reasons." |
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| Demoness | Dec 25 2013, 10:33 AM Post #450 |
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Jia Li nodded. "Yes, it makes sense. We do the same thing with our older materials. I used to think it was a shame to keep them locked up, even in climate controlled environments, but then I realized there was simply too much to put on display. It's a shame." |
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