OoC: Creative bumpity
Elessia was truly an enormous city. With a population number over eleven million inhabitants, it was only natural that the city’s diversified environment would lead to some of the most elaborate designs and figures in the entirety of the Empire. It was not uncommon for tourists to the city to become lost in the Ebner District, with the enormous availability of shops, restaurants, sight-seeing observatories, and a countless number of ways to spend one’s free time in what, to them, was a foreign land. This wasn’t any less true for the Capital District, where the most important infrastructure of the Imperial government was prominently placed. The Imperial Palace of Elessia often opened its doors to limited visits, with the oldest wings of the palace available for viewing for up to three hours. The pristine beds and rooms of the lush existence of monarchs in the Empire of ages past was magnificently on display, and though the Imperial Union maintained its emperor —or, currently, empress—, it was in a significantly different fashion than the excessively extravagant displays of power wielded by the monarchs of the 18th Century and before in Eothasia.
It was no surprise, of course, that the Imperial Palace, despite its eye-catching façade and the beauty of its surrounding areas, was not the only attraction for tourists of the Capital District. Eyes were, more often than not, placed also upon the Presidium, one of the largest structures in the entirety of the city and undoubtedly the centre of power of the whole Union. The Presidium, home of the Council of Ministers, epitome of the demonstration of political leadership of the Empire. It was, most certainly, the unmistakeable identity of the political structure of the Empire, and it drew the attention it most certainly deserved.
The Presidium, the Eothasi knew —the tourists, probably not so much— was not only a symbol of power and solidity of the Eothasi government, but also the centre of operations for the Council of Ministers. On a weekly basis —or more frequently, if the situation demanded it and if the Lady Regent called it so— the Council of Ministers would gather in specialised rooms in its interior to discuss matters of State. Diplomatic efforts with international organisations such as the World Assembly or its international economic and ideological partners, economic analyses of the various sectors of the productive sectors of the Eothasi society, or any number of widely varying political topics were discussed in the absolute secrecy commanded by the Council of Ministers.
And today was a Wednesday.
Empress Midna von Reimann stood in Conference Room 34, where the Lady Regent had convoked the 77th Plenum of the III Imperial Council of Ministers. The Order of the Day for this week was long, as the annual Military Readiness Exercise was starting next month, and the Lady Regent had wanted weekly updates on the operation. Empress Midna did find that most amusing; the Imperial Union had not required a military intervention of any foreign State in well over a decade, and yet the exacerbated requirements of defence protocol were draining Imperial public finances. She personally disagreed —Eothasia was sufficiently far enough away from most threats that they could afford to reduce expenditure in this field and dedicate to other, more necessary projects— but she digressed. The State Assembly had, time and again, approved the defence budget and she was no one to suggest measures against the will of the People.
Before long, the doors rumbled with the entrance of various other members of the Council of Ministers. Each and every one entered the room and stopped abruptly, erupting with a “Your Majesty” and a short bow, customary in Eothasi culture, before taking their seats comfortably. Empress Midna herself remained by the window, nodding to all those who entered but remaining motionless in her posture, until Lady Regent Aema arrived.
With her arrival, the rest of the Council of Ministers rose and bowed, as did the Lady Regent in response. She walked into the room confidently, smiling at Midna as she walked up to her by the far end of the room.
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said with a wide smile, “I trust you find yourself well today?”
“I do,” Midna replied with a smile, taking her seat next to the Lady Regent at the head of the table, “although I’m rather concerned about the Order of the Day.”
“Yes, I can imagine,” Aema replied, nodding, “the situation in Vyazma, I’m sure you mean?” The Lady Regent was referencing the reports the government had received from the Local Community of Vyazma that Monday indicating that contamination in the city had been on the rise in the past twelve months and that the tendency was extremely troubling. They mutually reassured one another that they would discuss it with Secretary Edgar Fournier of Ecology and Sustainable Development, as he surely had more information.
The meeting went along quite quickly, discussing various points on the agenda for the following week and discussing the successes and failures of previous public policies. Amongst the most entertaining for Empress Midna was that of the Diplomatic Cooperation Initiative, where Secretary Clara Ludwig took an excellent lead.
“In terms of domestic relations, we’ve had much success with the Tsarstvo Alyaski. Their ambassador, the honourable Kapustov Ilyich, has settled in well in Elessia and is handling negotiations regarding the scientific cooperation they wish to invest in quite well. I’m told that they should be reaching a definitive answer soon to present to the State Ministry of Scientific Research,” she said, pointing towards Secretary Théodora Neumann, the incumbent secretary.
“And how is Ivonne?” Aema asked, tilting her head up from her laptop, “is she settling in well in Alaska?”
“Quite,” Clara said, “although she’s quite ‘nervous’,” she said with a sly smile, “because she claims it’s much colder than she anticipated and she’s not sure if her golden-rayed lilies would ever survive that climate.” A collective chuckle warmed the atmosphere, but it was almost immediately dimmed by Clara’s face.
“However,” she continued, “with regards to further diplomatic operations throughout the world, we are facing slightly more pressing issues. It appears that, no matter what we do, the ever-present growth of fascistic and expansionist regimes continues. Diplomatic partners are becoming more difficult to find and the Initiative has had little luck lately in establishing new partnerships.”
“If I may,” Empress Midna decided to chime in, as she most certainly could, “I believe you mentioned that there were plans for future expansion that we had yet to follow up on?”
“Indeed,” Clara replied, nodding, “we’re currently looking into the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth, although we haven’t truly begun the bureaucratic process of doing so. They’re definitely one of the prime candidates, however.”
“We can pursue that possibility,” the Lady Regent said, “although we’ll have to be sure that we’re ideologically and democratically compatible. We must ensure that Eothasia does not ally with those that would destroy the very foundations of our democracy and liberties. Do we have any additional candidates?”
“A few,” Clara replied, allowing air to quickly sweep through her teeth. “Would you like me to go into detail on each one?”
“Yes, please,” Aema said, prepping herself, “I think that would be for the best.”
It was no surprise, of course, that the Imperial Palace, despite its eye-catching façade and the beauty of its surrounding areas, was not the only attraction for tourists of the Capital District. Eyes were, more often than not, placed also upon the Presidium, one of the largest structures in the entirety of the city and undoubtedly the centre of power of the whole Union. The Presidium, home of the Council of Ministers, epitome of the demonstration of political leadership of the Empire. It was, most certainly, the unmistakeable identity of the political structure of the Empire, and it drew the attention it most certainly deserved.
The Presidium, the Eothasi knew —the tourists, probably not so much— was not only a symbol of power and solidity of the Eothasi government, but also the centre of operations for the Council of Ministers. On a weekly basis —or more frequently, if the situation demanded it and if the Lady Regent called it so— the Council of Ministers would gather in specialised rooms in its interior to discuss matters of State. Diplomatic efforts with international organisations such as the World Assembly or its international economic and ideological partners, economic analyses of the various sectors of the productive sectors of the Eothasi society, or any number of widely varying political topics were discussed in the absolute secrecy commanded by the Council of Ministers.
And today was a Wednesday.
Empress Midna von Reimann stood in Conference Room 34, where the Lady Regent had convoked the 77th Plenum of the III Imperial Council of Ministers. The Order of the Day for this week was long, as the annual Military Readiness Exercise was starting next month, and the Lady Regent had wanted weekly updates on the operation. Empress Midna did find that most amusing; the Imperial Union had not required a military intervention of any foreign State in well over a decade, and yet the exacerbated requirements of defence protocol were draining Imperial public finances. She personally disagreed —Eothasia was sufficiently far enough away from most threats that they could afford to reduce expenditure in this field and dedicate to other, more necessary projects— but she digressed. The State Assembly had, time and again, approved the defence budget and she was no one to suggest measures against the will of the People.
Before long, the doors rumbled with the entrance of various other members of the Council of Ministers. Each and every one entered the room and stopped abruptly, erupting with a “Your Majesty” and a short bow, customary in Eothasi culture, before taking their seats comfortably. Empress Midna herself remained by the window, nodding to all those who entered but remaining motionless in her posture, until Lady Regent Aema arrived.
With her arrival, the rest of the Council of Ministers rose and bowed, as did the Lady Regent in response. She walked into the room confidently, smiling at Midna as she walked up to her by the far end of the room.
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said with a wide smile, “I trust you find yourself well today?”
“I do,” Midna replied with a smile, taking her seat next to the Lady Regent at the head of the table, “although I’m rather concerned about the Order of the Day.”
“Yes, I can imagine,” Aema replied, nodding, “the situation in Vyazma, I’m sure you mean?” The Lady Regent was referencing the reports the government had received from the Local Community of Vyazma that Monday indicating that contamination in the city had been on the rise in the past twelve months and that the tendency was extremely troubling. They mutually reassured one another that they would discuss it with Secretary Edgar Fournier of Ecology and Sustainable Development, as he surely had more information.
The meeting went along quite quickly, discussing various points on the agenda for the following week and discussing the successes and failures of previous public policies. Amongst the most entertaining for Empress Midna was that of the Diplomatic Cooperation Initiative, where Secretary Clara Ludwig took an excellent lead.
“In terms of domestic relations, we’ve had much success with the Tsarstvo Alyaski. Their ambassador, the honourable Kapustov Ilyich, has settled in well in Elessia and is handling negotiations regarding the scientific cooperation they wish to invest in quite well. I’m told that they should be reaching a definitive answer soon to present to the State Ministry of Scientific Research,” she said, pointing towards Secretary Théodora Neumann, the incumbent secretary.
“And how is Ivonne?” Aema asked, tilting her head up from her laptop, “is she settling in well in Alaska?”
“Quite,” Clara said, “although she’s quite ‘nervous’,” she said with a sly smile, “because she claims it’s much colder than she anticipated and she’s not sure if her golden-rayed lilies would ever survive that climate.” A collective chuckle warmed the atmosphere, but it was almost immediately dimmed by Clara’s face.
“However,” she continued, “with regards to further diplomatic operations throughout the world, we are facing slightly more pressing issues. It appears that, no matter what we do, the ever-present growth of fascistic and expansionist regimes continues. Diplomatic partners are becoming more difficult to find and the Initiative has had little luck lately in establishing new partnerships.”
“If I may,” Empress Midna decided to chime in, as she most certainly could, “I believe you mentioned that there were plans for future expansion that we had yet to follow up on?”
“Indeed,” Clara replied, nodding, “we’re currently looking into the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth, although we haven’t truly begun the bureaucratic process of doing so. They’re definitely one of the prime candidates, however.”
“We can pursue that possibility,” the Lady Regent said, “although we’ll have to be sure that we’re ideologically and democratically compatible. We must ensure that Eothasia does not ally with those that would destroy the very foundations of our democracy and liberties. Do we have any additional candidates?”
“A few,” Clara replied, allowing air to quickly sweep through her teeth. “Would you like me to go into detail on each one?”
“Yes, please,” Aema said, prepping herself, “I think that would be for the best.”
