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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,247 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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"The dowry was given to the woman because the man was supposed to be able to provide for the family himself," Gavril said, "Not zat zat prevented some men from essentially stealing ze dowry from zeir wives for zemselves."
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Demoness
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"Of course," Jia Li agreed. The equivalent of dowries in Demonessian society were trades that the families made prior to the wedding as part of the contract. Once marriages were completed and properties changed hands, peace didn't always follow; some were simply ploys to obtain the dowry "legitimately" rather than though capture or acquisition. She knew other societies were similar. "What about divorce? Was that permitted?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Yes actually, and zat was one of ze areas in which early Cetatsenia could be considered fairly progressive," Gavril said, "Boz men and women could divorce zeir significant ozer if zey felt zey were not fulfilling zeir responsibilities as a spouse. Granted it was not exactly common, but it still happened."
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Demoness
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"So it wasn't illegal?" Jia Li asked. "I can't say Demoness was progressive in that respect. After the Reformation, marriages were made permanent and that caused issues, of course. It didn't matter what the spouse did and while a spouse could live separately or return to xyr family, no divorce would be granted except in very specific circumstances."
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Cetatsenia
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Andreea shook her head, "Zere were certain obligations zat marriage entailed, and if one of ze spouses was not fulfilling zose obligations zen dissolving ze marriage seemed like ze obvious solution."

"Zough sometimes zat caused even more issues, like if ze man had taken ze dowry and refused to give it back," Gavril said, shaking his head and sighing.
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Demoness
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"What sort of obligations do you mean?" Jia Li asked.
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Cetatsenia
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"Uh, stuff such as having children, men providing for ze family, ze woman taking care of ze family," Andreea replied, talking slowly as she thought about what to say.

"Zough it was slightly different in certain cases," Gavril said, "Such as when ze woman had a higher position zan ze man, or a man was marrying a ruling woman."

"Not zat everyone zought zat way," Gavrila added, yawning a bit, "And zere are still some assholes who zink zat way."
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Demoness
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"So not being able to have children was grounds for divorce?" Jia Li asked. "How did you figure out who to blame?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Uhhh, zat was one of ze places zat it got complicated," Gavril replied, "As I said, divorce was rare and when it did happen on grounds of not having children, it was usually ze one wiz ze most at stake trying to get ze divorce."

"So usually ze one wiz a title," Andreea added, "Or ze higher title."

Gavrila didn't add anything to the conversation this time, and instead just yawned and closed her eyes. Gavril and Andreea both gave their cousin a short look before turning back to the Demonessians. It seemed like the excitement of seeing the Castel de Nebunie had finally been overtaken by the fact that Gavrila had barely gotten any sleep the night before.
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Demoness
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Xel frowned. "Was the other person automatically considered at fault?" he asked. The lack of children was not grounds for divorce, even in Clan marriages; the remedy was often that the wife would quietly take a lover, though that typically happened even without the introduction of barrenness.
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