First Councillor Marco Valerio was pacing in his office, occasionally staring at the screensaver on his laptop but otherwise just pay attention to everything and nothing at the same time. He was nervous but excited, looking forward to the arrival of several leaders from all over the world. Since the collapse of talks in Procellia, there had been a noticeable need for leadership on the international stage, and Sartoria was stepping up to assume that role. He had been initially hesitant, unsure of his ability to lead, but he received strong encouragement from Prince Patrizio and Emperor Justinian from Selene, and he decided that if there were two opinions that he could trust, those were the ones. He stopped pacing to look at the clock on the right side of his office, and saw that some minutes were still left until the first leaders would arrive. He continued pacing, hands on his back and an untouched tea on his desk.
Over in the ground floor of the Palazzo Malzo, everything was already set for the arrival of the leaders, the Old Hall prepared for the state dinner and the Red Room ready for the negotiations. Sartoria made sure to advertise the summit as one where all topics would be on the table, but they were particularly interested in the formation of an international forum for the discussion of diverse issues and an agreement on the need to keep open trade and ensure peaceful relations between all states. With Selene less involved in international affairs -though not less interested in them- and Gracia Marelli holding secret negotiations with Sylon, this was the perfect moment for Sartoria to exert an enlightened leadership in the international system, one based on fairness and equal treatment for all.
He knew that at least six countries would attend, including rising stars like Kauzka and Viestrana, but he was completely ignorant regarding the temperaments of their leaders and what their national interests would be. While he paced, he was coming up with potential scenarios and how he would react to each, from deep skepticism to his intentions to an open willingness to talk. He was well aware that the Prince was barred by tradition from interfering in politics, but he sure hoped he could share the stage with him that afternoon. They had formed a great friendship over the past years, and he valued his advice. Where was he today? Was it in Porto Selenio or Virellia? He only remember that it was in some northern city, inaugurating a mass transit system.
His thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked the door and his secretary appeared:
"I'm sorry to disturb you Mr First Councillor, but the first delegations are arriving."
The first delegate to arrive was a man called Takis Marvrolefterou who was representing the Imperial Greek Military States. He appeared with a pistol and a sword because of Greek tradition and also held an icon of his patron saint. he was an Archbishop so he held a cane in his hand
Then he went up to the First Councillor and said " do not be alarmed with my weapons this is just Greek tradition. Besides with what is happening in this region and even in my own country there is a chance of terrorism whether we like it or not."
then he went to get his thimiato and put in some livani inside of it and out came a beautiful essence of smoke and he went up to the first Councillor and said to him " This is the smoke for Greek Orthodox Religion in order to get blessed. Would you like to be blessed.
OOC: A thimiato is like a cup with chains and we swing the chains so smoke can come out so people can get blessed
a livani is a white thing which you put inside the thimiato to make it burn and give out this smoke that us Greek Orthodox use for a blessing
The second delegate to arrive was a man named Itachi uchiha [representative of the Akatsukijan empire]with a body guard called kisame hoshigaki they both had kunai knives the body guard had a big sword and the representative himself had a golden sword as bright as the sun.
the representative said " sorry for my inconvenience about my weapons but as the first delegate said who knows what could happen.I am here to offer help. My country is famous for my armies and weapons I will stop this terrorism in our region.
Wearing a simple navy suit, Valerio stood in contrast with the more ceremonial outfits that his guests displayed. He briefly froze at the sight of the swords, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled at the two leaders, approaching them along with his translator.
"I take it you are Ambassador Marvrolefterou and you are Ambassador Uchiha?" he said, nodding at each when he said their names "On behalf of His Highness Prince Patrizio and his People I welcome you to the Principality of Sartoria."
He reached out to shake their hands and then turned to Marvrolefterou. "I would certainly appreciate your blessing."
Valerio was not a religious man -religion was rare in Sartoria- but he was well acquainted with the different religions in the world, and understood their importance in diplomacy. He was not, however, naive enough to let people carry weapons inside government buildings.
"Regrettably I will have to ask both your delegations to leave their swords in our custody for the duration of our meeting. I have no doubt on your honesty, but we do have regulations to which we must abide. I hope you understand."
Heesish took a deep breath as he entered the Palazzo Malzo. He was wearing a fur robe, a toga-looking robe made of a brown fur. He was the new councilor of Hiask Garden as Sasaufe had moved to Sanctuarum as it was the capital, and she needed a well guarded place free from attack, it wasn't called sanctuary for nothing. He had no weapons but a guard behind him had a semi-automatic rifle and a silenced pistol, both were holstered. The guard was also an expert in Moksi, a form of martial arts native to Kauzka, which masters of it could perform jumping attacks and break bones easily. This particular guard was also adept in Ceetraz, another martial art revolving more around pressure points and exploiting vulnerabilities, so Heesish had more than adequate protection. At the entrance his guards weapons had been confiscated but as stated before he was an expert in hand to hand combat, so if violence broke out during the discussions he would be safe. He saw where the other leaders were already gathering and joined them saying in heavily accented Latin 'Greetings, I am Heesish Councillor of Hiask Garden and voice of Sasaufe, I've come in response to the invitation sent recently' He paused and waited for Marco Valerio to respond.
Valerio turned to see a man in a brown fur robe approaching him, followed by someone who seemed to be a bodyguard. He vaguely remembered a paragraph in his daily briefing explaining the fur-based clothing worn by high officials in Kauzka. Sure enough, the man introduced himself as Heesish, representative from Sasaufe. Valerio nodded as her heard that and then introduced himself.
"I am glad that Kauzka has decided to attend this summit." he said while shaking hands with Heesish "I was just greeting Ambassadors Marvrolefterou from the Imperial Greek Military States and Uchiha from Akatsukijan."
He saw an aide trying to catch his attention at the end of the hallway, and quickly got the message. "Gentlemen, please accompany me to the Red Room, so we may discuss some business while the other delegations arrive."
President-General Robert Devitt strided into the Palazzo Malzo. Flanking him were two members of the Elite Guard, a group of hand picked guards all armed with full body armour however, the guards were forced to stay outside because of the laws regarding weapons in the building. Robert was quite stressed out as Colombia's economy was quite unstable. He then proceeded to walk over to the other leaders and strike up a rather friendly conversation as he waited for a chance to talk with Councillor Marco Valerio.
A man in a strange tribal looking tuxedo runs in the room with a worried look on his face. "Hey, I'm not late for the meeting am I?" he said. He looks around and sees that he is the last delegate. "Oh crud, of course I'm last." He then looks at all of the delegates and says, "Hello there! Sorry to have been so late. My name is Edward Yutan. I'm an ambassador of the Sol Federation. Nice to meet all of you!" He notices Valerio, and glares at him. "Hey there, are you an ambassador of Selene?" he says with a angry look on his face. "Let's get this straight out here, we haven't had the most friendly relationship or history with one another. My people, the Solteks, despise your country and want it dead. But we hope to establish talks with other nations of this world so that's why we arrived. That is all." But quickly he then went to his normal cheery attitude. "Well now that we're all here, let's start the meeting!"
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Heesish saw another delegate walk into the Palazzo Malzo. He seemed amiable enough but Heesish limited his conversation with him as he was still wary of foreigners and preferred to speak only when necessary. He touched his finger to his forehead and then to his stomach in the traditional greeting of Kauzka, but did not attempt to make conversation. He wondered how many more foreigners were coming and how exotic their clothing would be, although after looking at his own apparel he realized he must look strange to them as well.
Then another delegate ran into the building. He was dressed in strange attire, an almost modernized version of his own clothing. He was even more friendly and enthusiastic than the previous delegate and once again Heesish greeted him with Kauzka's strange salute
Valerio stared at the man in disbelief, incredulous at the boldness of the supposed ambassador. In his three years as First Councillor, this was the first time he had been treated with such disrespect, and he was fairly certain that none of his predecessors had been treated like that. He adopted a stern expression, and locked his eyes on the ambassador.
"I am Marco Valerio, First Councillor of Sartoria." he paused to let that sink in "I am your host."
He turned to his aide and spoke in a voice low enough so Yutan wouldn't hear. "Make sure that man is seated away from me at the state dinner."
Valerio then walked to his seat in the round table and called for attention. "Friends, I want to open this summit by welcoming each and every one of you to the Principality of Sartoria. Our nation was founded on the ideals of freedom and equal opportunities for all, and those are the same values that we hope to espouse at this summit. Today we will make history if we agree on measures to build an open and cooperative world, one based on open trade and free peoples. Please join me at this table so we can take the first step towards a brighter future."
The First Councillor of Sartoria sat and waited for the other delegates to follow suit. The Mekselia Summit had begun.