[IC] The Great Meeting

Via Grande

Alessandro struggled to understand the badly spoken Sartorian. These people were definitely not highlanders: upon closer examination, their clothes were far too thick for the equatorial weather, while their Sartorian was mispronounced and difficult to understand, quite different from the easy flow that characterised a native speaker. Still, he understood enough to figure out that they were foreigners and that they wanted to speak with the Privy Council. Who exactly they were? That he did not catch, and he didn't need to know anyway. He could already see his backup coming from down the highway, so he relaxed.

"Signore, per favore aspettate. Vi porterò alla stazione di polizia."

Palazzo Malzo

Advisor Andrea Malene was waiting to speak with the Council President. He was standing against one of the walls in the reception area, where visitors would usually wait for the Secretary of the President to inform him that someone was there to speak with him. Contrary to its seemingly mundane nature, many landmark moments had taken place there. Most notably, it was here where Prince Giovanni had been shot, so many years ago. In fact, he was standing right next to a portrait depicting that very scene: Giovanni trying to cover himself, as his attacker aimed at him. A reminder that even in Sartoria, civility was not guaranteed.

He was mulling over that scene when his name was called, and he went to meet the Council President.

"Mr President." He said, shaking hands with him "Thank you for meeting me in such short notice."

"What do you have for me?"

"You will be happy to know Mekselia Police has detained what seem to be our Procellian infiltrators. They appear to be military, and they speak at least some Sartorian, though I hear it's difficult to understand." He let that sink in for a second, as the President leaned back on his chair "I already got in touch with the Office of Internal Security, and they have sent agents to keep watch on them until we decide what to do."

Valerio was astonished at how fast this had moved. He knew agents were trying to locate the infiltrators, but this was so much faster than he expected. "Do you know what they want?"

"Apparently they wish to speak with you."

"Me? I have been communicating with their government. Why would they send covert agents to speak with me?"

"I can't answer that, sir."

Valerio considered his options. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes" Malene said, producing an envelope from inside his coat "This has just arrived. It's from Sylon."

As he read the letter, Valerio found himself nodding a few times, until he finished reading, and then he put down the letter.

"Alright. I want to see the infiltrators. Then I'll decide what to do about this letter."

Police Station
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SSgt Vemel, his two troops and their interpreter sat in their cell with faces of stone. Behind the royal guard's face was boiling fury at their treatment, they were diplomats from Procellia but had been placed in a police cell as if they had done something illegal. He passed the time by fantasizing about how the Dras would react to this turn of events. Although his master was known for his level head, and calm demeanor, his one flash point was when his people were mistreated. He gave a mental smile as he remembered the king literally flying across the country, him in attendance, all the way to Urru just to publicly berate and lecture the mayor of the provincial capital in front of his constituents. It had been a national spectacle to watch the, then new, head of state openly humiliate and elected official in his own city, even going so far as to insinuate that the mayor's mother must have had sex with a sea sponge to produce a person as stupid as he was. The reason for the scene? Homelessness, a problem once eliminated in the area, had reemerged due to budget cuts he had made two years ago.

That was just a dramatic example of course, his liege had since found more productive ways to deal with injustice towards his subjects (though in his defense that mayor lost the next election in a landslide).

An opening of the door drew his attention from his inner mind and back to reality. An armed police officer stood in the door, and through their translator informed them he was to take them to the council leader. The Procellian delegates could not help but feel further humiliated as they were loaded into different police cars and driven to their destination across the city, Vemel in his car silently meditated to remain calm and focus on the task at hand.

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Palazzo Malzo
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The quartet of Procellians, after a short wait in the waiting room found themselves facing the man they had been sent to speak with. He was oddly dressed to be sure, in clothes that looked anything but comfortable and lacked even the most basic of colors. Setting aside these thoughts SSgt Vemel, and his subordinates, all gave a deep bow in the Procellian fashion. He was speaking for the head of their nation, and everything had to go perfectly.

"Your Lordship" He said slowly, speaking the very well rehearsed speech through the translator "My name is Staff Sergeant Vemel of the Royal Guard. I have been sent by my liege and Master, His Holiness and Imperial Majesty, Merciful and loving ruler of Procellia,, he who speaks for our demon lords on this Earth, Dras Ishay, to personally meet you. He offers his deep gratitude that you have accepted his invitation."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the wooden box the Dras had given him "His Majesty first wishes to bestow upon you this gift; may it make your voyage and stay in Procellia comfortable and enjoyable"

Pulling the book out of his second interior pocket he added "My king, who believes wisdom and knowledge is the greatest treasure on earth, also gifts you this book for your national library. We pray that your people may enjoy this short history of Afgurla and savor its words with the fervor of true bibliophiles.

"And finally," he added as he placed the items on the desk before him "His majesty has sent us to ensure you arrive safely. The voyage across the seas can be very dangerous, and we known of the safest route to cross the rip tide that divides Procellia from Selene"

Palazzo Malzo

Marco Valerio had fond memories of his time as an international student in Byzantium. There he had learned so much about the broader world, about the customs and traditions of Selene, and notably about the world-renowned Byzantian sense of fashion. As was widely known, most adults in Byzantium were expected to wear suits when going about their daily business, and Valerio liked to believe that this custom made Byzantium a more dignified city, one were business and respect were serious affairs, and so he had incorporated that sense of proper attire into his own life. Some had criticised him to looking like a northerner aristocrat, but his unique brand of charisma made him look instead like a dignified leader, at least in the eyes of the electorate.

He was wearing a dark suit and a grey tie, both designed by Sartorial Clothing, the oldest and most revered designer in the country. Coincidentally, he had worn that same suit the day he was first invited to form a government, and it seemed this was the suit he would wear when he met the Procellian infiltrators. Incidentally, the door opened and there they were, being led by his Secretary, and scorted by officials from the Office of Internal Security. True enough, they were wearing very colourful clothes, similar to those from the highlands, but not quite the same, both in terms of the material being used and the specific designs in the textile. However, it was their facial expressions what caught his attention. They all looked uncomfortable, but the one who seemed to be the leader looked incredibly furious.

Once they made it before his desk, the leader introduced himself as Staff Sergeant Vemel and explained what was his mission. Valerio remained silent, sitting back on his chair, and even as the infiltrator finished his introduction, he remained silent, taking a good look at them. After what seemed like a long time, he stood up and walked toward the window, to the left of his desk. He stared at the scene beyond, then turned to face the infiltrators, and spoke:

"Do you like food, Sergeant Vemel?"

As the female translator recited to him the question Vemel politely bowed and replied "Yes sir."

Realizing that he had been letting his emotions be seen he silently shifted position to attention, standing straight as an arrow and adopting an expression that could only be read as boredom. Silently he took a deep breath and cleared his mind as best as he could, this mission was to important for him to let his emotions get the better of him.

As he waited for the council member to reply back his mind unbidden wandered back to that moment not even a week ago. He had been in his room, one of many small chambers in the castle reserved for the Dras' Royal Guard, watching the news on TV and browsing his social media accounts when a loud knock on the door drew his attention. In the doorway was Colonel Roncices, forcing him to immediately stand at attention. Col Roncices was the night watch commander for the castle and one of the most eccentric leaders he had ever met, but in his craziness was a brilliance that had earned him the post he now possessed.

After the Colonel had explained the Dras' orders he'd been told to pack and be ready to leave within an hour. The assignment had surprised him greatly, and at first he had thought that it was a joke. He was barely an NCO and had a reputation for being a bit of a hot head. His temper was the reason he was assigned to night duty to begin with, to avoid potential problems with the royal family. Even now he couldn't help but feel that he was a poor choice for the job, but he swore to himself that he would succeed at this mission.

Valerio has busy getting ingredients to prepare a couple of sandwiches, one for himself and the other for Sergeant Vemel. They were in the Executive Lounge, a small room close to his office, where his staff would often heat their meals and spend their breaks talking or sleeping. He would often use the room to heat small meals at night, after everyone had gone to their own homes. He had an actual kitchen in the residential section of the Palazzo Malzo, but for those nights where he had to stay up late working, he liked the smaller, personal feeling that the Lounge offered.

As he cut the breads and laid some cheese and other ingredients over them, without looking up, he started talking:

"Relax, sergeant. Your troops will be more than comfortable in my office, and I'm sure they are also getting some much needed food. In the meantime, let's use our brief moment of privacy to have an honest discussion. Do you want to start by telling my why you sneaked into my country, rather than flying here like normal envoys?"

Having finished one sandwich, he put it on a small dish and placed it in front of Vemel. "I hope they like sandwiches over in Procellia."

The Chancellor was looking out through the Windows Of The Hightower Capitol Seeing His Airship Fleet That Has Protect Boredomo For Decade But Was Interrupted By Embassador Mia du Pont Claiming an Ancient Unknown Nation Of Procellia had send an Envoy For A summit at their city, but it seems like the Chancellor not surprise because apparently Boredomo Archangel (special ops) actually already have a teory of hidden nation at the snowy Continent.

i knew they where something there, say The chancellor

What do we do sir, say the embassador

establish Contact With them if they hide themself for 1000 year i want to know why, say the chancellor

Aye sir, Say the embassador

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Office of International relationship

Procellia Goverment Summit Invitation

In response to your invitation, with Honour we will send representative to your summit at Port city of Afgurla, as the Chancellor Of fine Boredomo, we look Forward To Discuss Our Bilateral Relationship.

Embassador Mia du Pont shall be waiting for the information of the summit.

Riko Boredomo
Chancellor of Fine Boredomo

The Sergent listened to the translation carefully, his face blank. His mind however, raced back to all the briefings he had gotten before his departure.

The Dras had never disclosed his reasons for sending him, or at least never had told Sgt Vemel. Thinking over the situation, and what he knew of the Demon King, he slowly realized the answer to the question. But, with this new understanding he also came to realize why he had been kept in the dark. Pondering for a minute he decided it best to just go for a political answer, even though he knew it wouldn't satisfy his host.

As the plate was set upfront of him he said calmly "I beg your forgiveness sir, my master was worried that if he sent us overtly in a plane or a ship it could be mistaken for hostilities by any of the nation's between here and Procellia."

Valerio began eating his sandwich, savouring the flavour and silently congratulating himself on a snack well prepared. He had taken three bites when he looked up at the soldier, smiling as if trying to stiffle a laugh.

"That's a great story, Sergeant. If the lie is that good, how much better will the truth be?"

Kingdom of Fornoire/Jinaduom Fornoire

After a communist revolution from the early 2000's, Fornoire was healing, and it was getting back on track. The Kingdom wished to end wars, and they suddently got the letter...

"Your majesty, I am humbled at your presence" said the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jon Steirson "There's a letter from the Empire of Procellia. I believe you will like it"

The King was a new one, only having been coronated 3 months before. His father died, and King Willihiam III(him) succeeded him. He vowed to continue his father's legacy of peace-building and recovery, and create a prosperous Fornoire...

"The Empire of Procellia? That is weird, let me see..." said the King "Aha...Aha...I see..."

"We shall attend. Prepare a delegation consisting of me, you, the Prime Minister and 3 delegates"

"Yes, your majesty"

The Minister, along with his staff, prepared all the details for the occasion. The delegation proceeded to the plane, and the King left his wife, Kuina Elizabeth IV, as the regent while he was gone.

The King got on his ride. It was rare for his subjects to see him in his car, less out of the vehicle. 

Fornoire was an absolute monarchy. Even though there was an unicameral legislature, the Konareš(Congress), it was all a façade to appear a benevolent regime. In reality, the King held all power, as 50% was appointed by him, 25% by the Military(which was in his and his family's control), 10% by the Courts(appointed by him) and 15% elected by the people. Even then the electoral districts were gerrymandered to give power to wealthy areas. To the world and to many subjects, Fornoire was ongoing reform. In reality, the past monarch wasn't going to follow through, and the current one couldn't. He wasn't going to share power with anyone but the elite, and the new King didn't have as much power as his father did. And although the people were full of hope, as the time passes, their hopes of reform were going to falter away.

Unless there was a reason to further reform.

However, Willihiam was different from his family and the aristocrats. He tried to reform, but couldn't, as the aristocracy had too much power. Even his family would kill him if he dared to make further reform. He had a plan in mind, to call forth the people and make them revolt against his rule, but he was the leader of such revolution. It must be confusing to many, but "his rule" is different from "his intentions".

In his mind, he thought "Soon. Just soon".

He arrived at the airport, and boarded his private jet. He was en route to the meeting.

A Great Meeting.

"I will do so" said Willihiam "Right, Jon?"

"Yes. We shall do so"

The sergent calmly took a few bites from his sandwich as he thought over the situation. He'd by now well guessed that the reason for the covert operation was out of fear of Selene, as well as a subtle show of the power of his Homeland's covert operations. But he couldn't very well come out and say that to a puppet of Selene.

Determined to play dumb he replied with a bored, but professional tone, "your grace I assure you I speak the truth. Would you not be more upset if we'd arrived through overt means?"