A Visit to Parthenopias
(By The Fydorian First Knight)
Sappho waited by the entrance to the Cathedral for the First-Knight of Fydoria. It had been a beautiful service and for Sappho her duties were completed. She was not close enough to the late Archon to actually be invited to the private ceremony back in Cinnia, as such she would remain in Aetira and engage in some serious diplomacy with the Fydorians. The two countries enjoyed quite chilly relations over the majority of the last century. Since the First Southern War in which Parthenopias defended its colonies against Fydorian Imperial Aggression, the two nations had suffered strained relations. A few years after the first war concluded another was launched by Fydoria which saw the cessation of Bermaine to the Fydorians and the Parthenopian Empire crumbling as colonies revolted and agitated for independence. Not only was the situation bad enough from the Colonial Wars, but it was further fueled by the Peninsular War which saw the two nations on opposite sides and thus once again at war. Three major conflicts within a decade of one another brought the enmity and hatred for one another to a breaking point. This ended with a complete severing of relations, trade and investment in Fydoria by Parthenopias. The "whites" which favored diplomacy lost the public's support and thus the "reds" who believed in isolating Fydoria while keeping a large military prepared for any threat won out.
That however was then and this is the present, the modern era. Least that is what Archon Jessero would have said in this instance. The various guests and dignitaries were departing the Cathedral, some with crocodile tears and others with nothing but stone cold resilience. Most were not mourning the very brief Archonship of Herida Iannos but instead mourning the woman that had become the face of the fight to preserve the oceans. An internationally renowned oceanographer, philanthropist and lover of nature. Sappho stood waiting to be met by the Fydorian First Knight, his arrival had caused quite a stir, though Sappho's permission to attend the funeral seemed to shock even more people. Her own party wasn't sure about whether or not to embrace the idea of a detente with their nation's formal rival. Many on the right believed that the two colonial wars against Fydoria are what provoked the decline of the Empire. Many were still bitter about the loss of the colonies. The younger generation, Sappho's generation however was prepared to put that loss aside and make a new relationship work.
The agenda was simple, smile for the cameras, shake hands and then talk behind closed doors about how best to proceed for the benefit of both nations. In reality it would likely mean some kind of beginning to increasing trade between both nations. Likely boosting tourism and educational cooperation. Other than that Parthenopias didn't have much interest in Fydoria. The latter was also engaged in assisting the government of Arizixilega and that was being condemned by the AU for the bloodiness of the intervention. Things had also been quite frosty since the end of the Peninsular War with Parthenopias pursuing some kind of 'isolation' for Fydoria on the international scale. Needless to say it had not worked out according to plan.