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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,289 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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Gavril smiled as well as he entered the car, and he was once again incredibly glad that the Demonessians didn't seem to mind the way his cousin spoke or acted.

"Aw man, zis is going to be great," Gavrila said with a grin, "I know it was not too long ago zat I was here last, but I always look forward to Horea's cooking."

Gavril let out a laugh, "It is understandable; I look forward to it as well, and I get it everyday." Then a thought struck Gavril, a small possibility that hadn't even entered his mind earlier. It was probably nothing, but he figured he might as well ask anyway and get rid of his concerns. "You are not allergic to any foods, are you?" he asked Jia Li. While Horea would understand if the Empress was, he'd probably be at least a little upset that Gavril hadn't thought to ask the question earlier and save him the trouble of making food that wouldn't be eaten by everyone.
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Demoness
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Jia Li shook her head. "No, not to my knowledge," she replied. "Thankfully. I think that would have made my life a lot more difficult, ne? My mother was supposedly allergic to fish and I can only imagine how difficult that would have been for her."
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Cetatsenia
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"Oh, zat sounds horrible," Gavrila said, "Fish is delicious as hell, I cannot imagine not being able to eat it."

Gavril nodded and smiled in relief, "Well zen, zat is good to know. Zough I probably should have asked zat earlier."
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Demoness
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Jia Li laughed. "It's okay. I assumed any sort of questions would have been sent forward."

Ariana nodded. "I was contacted regarding any needs you may have, Your Imperial Highness, but I may have neglected food requirements. It was a long form," she interjected. Though she knew she had filled the form entirely, she allowed room for "error" so that their hosts would not be embarrassed.

"Ah, thank you, Nedia-shiro," she replied. Turning toward Gavrila, she added, "Fish is also a staple of our diet. We have alternative dishes, of course, but fish sometimes shows up in recipes regardless, such as perhaps fish oil." She shrugged. "So that means she couldn't eat some soups simply because they had a fish base for the broth."
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Cetatsenia
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Gavril was silently thankful for Ariana's response, though he did feel a little bad about letting her take the blame. But he wasn't sure what exactly to say without seeming rude or argumentative, and he supposed that that was just the way Demonessians did things. After all, it wasn't as though he asked her or wanted her to do it; she had just done it.

"Zat really sounds like it would really suck," Gavrila said in response to Jia Li, "I do not want to imagine any kind of food allergy, let alone an allergy to somezing common in our diet."

"Indeed, it does sound razer unfortunate," Andreea added.
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Demoness
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Though Ariana gave no outward indication, she approved of Gavril's lack of response; it meant that he had at least a rudimentary understanding of Demonessian society. If Jia Li had even given the exchange any thought, she would have also known that Ariana was impeccable when it came to details and therefore deduced the interjection was to save face for Gavril. Gestures like this were part of the subtler level of interaction and outsiders rarely understood that; some outsiders would have even tried to correct Ariana, thinking it was polite to take the blame. However, Ariana was also considered a servant; she was expected to take the blame, though only fools would not actually condemn her for the mistakes for which she'd taken credit.

Xel delicately stroked his wife's hair. "I have heard stories from my father and some of the older guards about Emonatsu-kaminoryu and High Priest Doran and how difficult it sometimes was to accommodate them."
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Cetatsenia
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"I can only imagine," Gavril said, "Most of ze recent members of Cetatsenia's royal family have been in good healz. It sounds like it would be razer unpleasant, and I would hate to inconvenience my servants."

Andreea sighed, "It would not be much of an inconvenience. Zey are servants, zey chose zeir job, and if you had healz problems accommodating for zem would be part of zeir job."

"Oh shut up and let our brozer empathize," Gavrila added with a laugh. Then she stopped for a moment when she realized her error, "Pizdă. Your brozer."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Jan 3 2014, 06:12 PM.
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Demoness
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Jia Li smiled at the slip of the tongue. Xel had a unique perspective on the conversation since he was a former "servant" and truthfully, he agreed with Andreea, even if he hadn't "chosen" his job, but his thoughts had been on the health of his mother-in-law and her father respectively. Many of the servants, especially the guards, grew close with their employers and his father Ikarin had actually enjoyed a brotherly relationship with Emonatsu; the accommodations made for her health brought more concern that she couldn't fully enjoy life as he could.

"There is a difference in simple accommodation and some of the things they went through," Xel replied grimly. "They all had close relationships with Emonatsu and Doran, so imagine how difficult it was watching them slowly waste away." He wanted to add, "Or bleed to death," but that hit too close to home; Jia Li had hemorrhaged each time she had given birth, though it thankfully had been less severe than her mother, and after being harshly chastised by an "acquaintance", Xel had made the decision to prevent further births and future complications.
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Cetatsenia
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Both Gavril and Andreea smiled at their cousin's slip of the tongue. They liked it when she accidentally referred to her as her sibling, and they did it on occasion as well. Though it was far more common for Gavrila to accidentally refer to their mother as 'Mom'. And they thought fondly of it whenever it did happen, since Gavrila was considered to be a part of their direct family.

But at Xel's words, all three of them nodded solemnly, even Gavrila. Gavril and Andreea's mother was getting older, and it was entirely possible that they may have to watch her waste away. And Gavrila was already watching Aurel waste away, granted it was very slow and he was in far better condition than most people his age. But Gavrila could still see the difference in the way he moved and the way he spoke when compared to the Aurel that had sworn to serve her after her mother abdicated.

"I honestly do not want to imagine it," Gavril said, "As I may have to go zrough it myself wiz my mozer."

"She is fine now, but zere is always ze chance," Andreea added.

Their cousin, however, didn't say a thing. Instead she just looked over at Aurel, who looked back at her with a small smile on his face. "Nu-ți face griji pentru mine, copil," he whispered to her. Gavrila just nodded at the older man, though her gaze lingered on him a while longer before she turned her attention back to the Demonessians.
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Demoness
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Jia Li frowned at her husband, studying him for a moment. While she was used to his brusqueness, he was generally not rude and that is how his comment came off to her. He had never met Doran or Mona and though she had known about Ikarin's closeness with Mona, she had never heard him speak of it; his focus seemed to have always been on her father, Ashuril, and mollifying his dark moods. Then it dawned on her that his words didn't reflect his thoughts, which were on her and their future, and in their language quietly assured him, "River of My Heart, that will not happen to me. I am strong. I have survived much and I will live a long time."

He clasped her hand and in Morai, gently replied, "Precious Jade, there is always the possibility, which I fear." He shook his head. "But we should continue this discussion later."

She did not wish to drop the issue, but she ceded now was not the time and simply caressed his face before turning back to their hosts. "Then it is best to cherish the time you have together now," Jia Li replied in English, slowly transforming from solemnity to cheerfulness. "But then again, none of us really know how much time we have left and it is not healthy to dwell on that either. Since we are heading back to the palace and it is the end of the day, perhaps we can plan what we will see tomorrow."
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