A Meeting of Emperors (PRIVATE, ATTN A+B)

[Archeuland and Baughistan]

It turned out that secularism and morality are not mutually exclusive, something that may be of interest to hardcore theists.

OOC: That is perhaps the most biased and passive-aggressive narrative I have ever read in a roleplay. I almost mistook it for General. But, that's fine, because I do the same thing.

After refreshments were served, Markus told them that he had to go down 'about a billion flights of steps' in their enormous palace and that he had to go to the Foreign Office to speak with Miles. He intended to surprise the delegates from the Commonwealth of Hank the Cat.

"Yes," Markus said, picking up his coat. "Hank the Cat. Commonwealth of Hank the Cat. A country's name; can you believe it! I don't understand it either."

He shuffled the papers and organized them. "Well, this was quite exciting, I will have my secretary take these documents to the Senate chamber for review. I will be back later this evening and we can speak more if either of you should wish. Good day!"

Mrs. Delfontaine then invited them to go for a walk around the palace grounds with her. "I'll show you the sights of this fine palace, if you should wish."

[Allied Connurist States]

It turned out that secularism and morality are not mutually exclusive, something that may be of interest to hardcore theists.

OOC: That is perhaps the most biased and passive-aggressive narrative I have ever read in a roleplay. I almost mistook it for General. But, that's fine, because I do the same thing.

After refreshments were served, Markus told them that he had to go down 'about a billion flights of steps' in their enormous palace and that he had to go to the Foreign Office to speak with Miles. He intended to surprise the delegates from the Commonwealth of Hank the Cat.

"Yes," Markus said, picking up his coat. "Hank the Cat. Commonwealth of Hank the Cat. A country's name; can you believe it! I don't understand it either."

He shuffled the papers and organized them. "Well, this was quite exciting, I will have my secretary take these documents to the Senate chamber for review. I will be back later this evening and we can speak more if either of you should wish. Good day!"

Mrs. Delfontaine then invited them to go for a walk around the palace grounds with her. "I'll show you the sights of this fine palace, if you should wish."

OOC: Sorry it didn't sound so passive agressive when I wrote it, but reading it I can see your point entirely.

Hank the Cat. It was certainly a very odd name for a nation. How it had been devised was beyond the trio. It was not unheard of for clinically insane dictators to name things in such a fashion - there were plenty a nation named after their founder. It could only be assumed that whoever founded that Commonwealth was particularly fond of his cat, although Emperor Connor I preferred dogs.

"A pleasure for all of us to meet you" said the Emperor, shaking his hand, before Markus left to speak with Miles - presumedly the same Jacque Miles who had responded to the original telegram - the foreign minister of the Holy Empire.

Emily, holding the hand of her husband, accepted the offer from Mrs. Delfontaine. They all knew that the palace was a place of beauty, and seeing more of it would be a pleasant experience, and it wasn't like they had anything else to do, even if the idea hadn't been as appealing. They would have obliged her on grounds of politeness at the least, anyway.

[Archeuland and Baughistan]

Mrs. Delfontaine led them through the complex and winding palace, pointing out all sorts of interesting things. The carpet was uniformly red, it seemed, throughout most every hallway. Tapestries, paintings, and statuettes were on or along every single wall. They passed hundreds of doors and winding staircases and entrances to secret alcoves and wine cellars. "I have not begun to discover everything in this palace. My husband and I have gone on explorations of this palace many times when we are not working."

The sound of an organ hummed in the distance. "That sound is perhaps the largest and finest church organs in Genevievia," said Mrs. Delfontaine. "The highest of its pipes stretch two hundred feet in the air. The cathedral itself and the surrounding complex is perhaps a third of the palace. The Papal Palace in Augustinople is very small compared to our own royal cathedral. Of course Augustinople is a new city, which, by the way, leads me to my next point." Sitting them down in table and chairs in a tea room, she brought them cookies. "Let me tell you about the history of the palace itself."

She leaned in and took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie. "Two thousand years ago, the city of Massouba was founded - under a different name - an obscure name of the Gilneo-Latin tongue. It was not the bustling city it is today, of course. It was a man - a Jew - who built a small house for himself. He and his family lived a secluded and godly lifestyle. Soon, farms began to emerge around his home. He began to dig out pastures and plant fruit trees. As time went on, his descendants began to build up homes for themselves, and their homes were eventually connected by a complex series of hallways constructed over several hundred years. As the family grew in size, so too did their home, which eventually began to be shrouded in the security of walls. They were not the richest in the region - but they soon were. They came to possess a large inheritance - an enormous hill - the one the palace sits on now. They left their farms and homes on the bottom of the hill and sold them to the poor, officially founding the fortress-city of Massouba.

"In 1231 AD, Lord Delfontaine-Graymane commissioned an alliance with the Gilnean kingdoms, and built up his small city state, which by and by became known as Archenland. Later, of course, Archenland was renamed Archeuland, but that wasn't until 1787. Anyhow, this alliance with the Gilneans brought great wealth to Delfontaine-Graymane and his family, and as Massouba grew, they began to construct an enormous palace, more ambitious than their project of homes at the bottom of the hill. Construction did not stop completely until 1963. We have not built any new addition to the palace or government buildings since that time. In short," and she took another bite of cookie, "this palace is the result of the unification of hundreds of homes and farms and estates, built over two thousand years.

[Allied Connurist States]

The Palace was almost ineffable in its beauty. It was truly a masterpiece, and extremely impressive that it was two thousand years old. So impressive, in fact, that it was almost criminal that the international community wasn't really aware of such architectural wonder. Surely this must be one of the seven wonders of the world? In fact, it had kindled and stirred slight jealousy within the Connurists - they weren't at all dissatisfied with the Imperial Connurist Palace, but they could do so much better! (Although maybe not have something this big - imagine getting lost in here! Did Mrs. Delfontaine really say that she hadn't explored the entirety of the place?)

If Anselm or Gaunilo had turned their minds to palaces, this may be a palace than which nothing greater can be conceived, though of course the concept of the greatest possible palace was an incoherent one. Surely the more beautiful paintings and luxurious bedrooms a palace had the greater it was, but there was no upper limit on these very things! And a vast expanse of a palace such as this one in Massouba certainly had practicality problems, no?

If the Lord Delfontaine-Graymane of 1231 was of relation to the husband of Mrs Delfontaine, it would certainly be the longest and most ancient lineage the Emperor had ever came across. It fascinated him, and inspired grandiose visions and daydreams of establishing lineage of his own. Ambition was never something that the Emperor had been without.

The Empire of Allied Connurist States lacked a rich and vibrant history, but in the coming years it hoped to forge one. And in the meantime, cookies would keep them occupied.

[Archeuland and Baughistan]

"Of all the wonders in the world, this is certainly one," said Mrs. Delfontaine. "Be it seven wonders or a hundred, I count this palace among them. Tell me about your palace in the Allied Connurist States," she said, passing them some more cookies.

A serving girl brought some milk as well. "This milk isn't pasteurized," whispered Mrs. Delfontaine. "But it is the safest in the world. The pasteurization process may make milk safer, but it takes away the flavor. The finest cows in Archeuland make the finest milk for royals - and their fine guests," she said with a smile. "More expensive than a fine wine, because you can hardly get fresh milk with the creme in it - not these days. The World Assembly and all that probably has some obscure law against it, but we keep to our own here."

[Allied Connurist States]

Taking cookies, the Emperor is about to begin talking about the palace in which he resides, but a serving girl brings milk and Mrs Delfontaine explains what makes the milk special.
"If you say so..." says the Emperor, taking a glass of milk and laughing nervously. "But if you end up killing us, there'll be consequences!" he jokes. Dark comedy was something that he enjoyed, as did the rest of his party, but such humour was risky - some people just didn't get it.

"So, the palace..." He takes a sip of milk, and it is fine indeed. "It doesn't possess many paintings, or any tapestries or statues. It was built in the 1930's by our first leader - the founder of our nation. It's what I think is modern architecture, but I'm no interior designer."
"A fair statement, Connor." states Alice. It is the first time she has spoken for a while. There is silence for a while, before she asks "May I?", with the intention of speaking on the subject. She gets a slight nod in return, and so continues.

"Well, it was certainly built for the purpose of being lived in. Unlike many palaces, it wasn't constructed to show off to the people, and practicality was one of the principles that went into its construction. It's, errr, semi-secluded and has many elements to it. Living quarters comprise the main body; the heart of the structure, and the secondary areas are used as meeting rooms and halls. It's a building that accomodates the needs of it's security force. The High Command spend a lot of time there, and of course we have the entire set of nuclear bunkers. I guess that it's, yeah umm, it would be fair to say that it's open plan. Small in comparison to here but still large. Worth a lot of money.

Hardly a world wonder, but I wouldn't disagree with anyone who says that it's a wonder home. Meets the needs required of it and everyone's happy. And this milk is superb!"