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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,291 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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"Yes, and zey are no good if zey end up deteriorating," Gavril said, "Apparently exposure to light can slowly degrade ink, or somezing like zat. And we do our best to keep ze books and documents down zere safe."

"Historians pretty much have free reign of ze Restricted Section, provided zey follow protocol," Andreea added, "And it is not terribly difficult to get permission to go down zere, provided you have an actual reason to do so."
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled. "Ah, then I won't ask," she said. "Have these documents been scanned? I know it can damage or even destroy some documents, but it is a way I have heard of that will at least preserve the information."
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Cetatsenia
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"Yes, some have been scanned in order to preserve zem electronically," Gavril said, "And besides damage zere are some books zat are simply kept zere because zey are ze originals of books still in print, so zere is no need to scan zem."

"Eh, ze Restricted Section is not much fun," Gavrila said, putting her hands in her pockets and shrugging, "It is dark and zere is nozing zere besides ze shelves of old books and ze equipment for viewing said old books."
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Demoness
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Jia Li laughed. "At least you don't have to worry about spiders or other creatures down there. The Plateau has its own depository in the cathedral's basement levels. I wouldn't call it 'haunted', but that's the closest English equivalent. There are weird lights and unexplained sounds down there." As she spoke, she smiled and wiggled her fingers in the air to accentuate the spookiness while Xel just rolled his eyes. "They say ryuu are trapped in the Catacombs with the Unnamed."
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Cetatsenia
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At Jia Li's words a wide grin spread across Gavrila's face, "Oh, zat sounds like fun. And Catacombs? Zat sounds like an awesome place to explore."

Gavril just smiled and a small smile played across Andreea's lips despite her wanting to roll her eyes. Neither of them really believed in supposedly supernatural things such as that. "Oh, actually you would be wrong about not having to worry about spiders," Gavril added, smiling, "Zere are some Norocs down zere last time I checked, zough ze caretakers made sure to keep zem in certain areas where zeir webs would not get on any of ze documents. Actually, I am surprised we did not come across any here in ze library yet, zere are several zat make zeir homes here."

"None of you are arachnophobic, are you?" Gavrila said with a sly grin, "Because if you are, you may have an unpleasant time. A Noroc's legs can surround your face; zey are not small spiders."
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Demoness
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Xel raised an eyebrow. "Even if a Noroc isn't poisonous, I can't imagine letting a spider that large roam freely around one's residence. That does not seem to be a good idea."
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Cetatsenia
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"It is really just ze legs; zeir bodies are big, but not ungodly big," Gavrila said with a shrug, "And zey stay in zeir webs, only moving once in a while."

"And actually Norocs are somewhat venomous," Gavril said with a nervous laugh, "But for some reason zey are docile beyond all reason. Unless you are trying to rip one's legs off or harm zem, zey just sit zere."

"And any bites zat do occur are swiftly dealt wiz," Andreea added, "Every Cetatsen know what a Noroc looks like, and all hospitals and clinics carry Noroc antivenin. Zere has not been a deaz because of a Noroc in over a decade."

"Zey are not any more dangerous zan your chitaels, or whatever it is zat zey are called," Gavrila said, "And most houses only have one."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 25 2013, 12:29 PM.
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Demoness
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Xel was skeptical about the harmlessness of Norocs, especially since chitaels weren't venomous, but he supposed he'd feel the same way about chitaels if he hadn't been raised in Demoness.

"That is very interesting," Jia Li interjected. "Have Cetatsens ever tried to domesticate them?"
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Cetatsenia
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"How exactly do you domesticate a spider?" Gavrila asked, her expression making it obvious that she thought it was a stupid question, "What exactly is ze difference between a wild spider and a domestic spider?"

"Er, what she means by zat is no," Gavril added with a sigh, "Ze Norocs are not pets; zey simply make zeir homes in buildings and we just leave zem be."
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Demoness
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Jia Li frowned and shrugged. She had been thinking of tarantulas, which she knew some people kept as pets, but she was also aware of more "exotic" spiders that people kept, up to poisonous ones like black widows. She didn't understand the practice, especially since most exotic animals couldn't be held or pet or anything aside from observing it in a cage and, unlike fish, tended to be rather boring.

"They just seemed rather large to simply let around," she said.
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