The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring (pLease sign up first)

[Gehenna Tartarus]

When it reached a time to decide where each of the Tartarians were going, they were split between the zoo for Marissa and the museum for Hugo, who had studied history at university. As Tia did not have a strong preference, she volunteered to accompany Marissa as long as they got time to visit the conservatory as well. As much as Hugo did not want to let his sister out of his sight, he trusted that their friend would look out for her as much as he would, so he reluctantly agreed for them to go to see the animals, while he went to study the paintings and artefacts.

[United Slavic Nations]

Annya just stood there, alarmingly confused, before shrugging and skipping off to the museum to look at the history of this great nation. She had always been a history buff, and there was just so much to learn about this nation that could be used to blackmail its president and citizens! This was going to be so, so much fun!

[New Edom]

The Zoo

A magnificent blue and white bird stalked in an enclosure with a towering fence and a moat dividing fence and the habitat, which had a number of large shade bearing trees and a great shambling arrangement of branches and bushes that seemed like a huge nest. The bird nearest the fence was a female. The more gorgeously colorful male was doing a curious dance, flapping vestigial wings and giving a great echoing croak, stamping large yellow splayed feet on the ground; he had sprays of orange, red and brighter blue in his crest and tail; the more somber female, who was considerably bigger, was standing eyeing the viewers with yellow and black eyes, now and then tilting its savagely curved dull yellow beak up and down. The sign read: Great Crested Griffon--mated pair.

"I think outside of places like Inutoland," said Mara dreamily, "There are few beasts like this left in the world. For some reason, perhaps due to mountainous isolation, New Edom has been home to them. Most of them were fond in the islands. The Cornellian Empire had a taste for spectacles and most of them were killed in the arena, but some survived." As Mara talked she was pushing Annelli along in her wheelchair, even though Tegan had offered to do it for her.

Perrin asked Tia, "Is there anything you'd like to see in particular, or would you just like to do the tour?"

The Conservatory

Warmth and humidity bathed those who arrived in an indoor rain forest, which was all soaring trees, huge flowers, musky and sweet scents, sounds of trickling water and singing birds, and the sight of butterflies lazily flapping around. Even the little footpaths and bridges were disguised with moss, to resemble old fallen logs or stones. There were discreet signs here and there that indicated what plants were available, advising which paths to walk on.

Prophet Burden sighed, inhaling the air. "Rapture! Why," he remarked, "This always makes me think of the tales of Eden."

"Though they did tend that garden too, it clearly took some work," offered his wife Ophelia.



The Museum

Among the displays available were a series of

Queen Adah I of the Kingdom of Edom known as Adah the Liberator, led the Kingdom of New Edom following the death of her father Josias I. Known as "The Warrior Queen", she was famed for actually going into the field with her troops, though there is no record of her having undertaken amazon like personal combat.


Infantry Uniform


14th Hussar Uniform


New Edomite 21st Lancers in Battle

depicting the War of Liberation (against the old Cornellian Empire) as well as dioramas of battles, displays of weapons and clothing, a reconstruction of a train and an ironclad, and a reconstruction of a full blown clipper ship in a large display area that you could walk over and inspect, walk the decks and go belowdecks to the crew compartment and cargo areas.

[Nalaya]

At the Conservatory

Ashkhen was more than happy to escape from the party to view plants and the fascinating little climate controlled environments that housed them. For her, half the draw was the engineering and careful science that went into preserving these organisms in their ideal environment. A few degrees one way or another or a few percentage points of humidity could make impressive difference. It reminded her a great deal of the National Gardens in Sevan, where hundreds of thousands of plants and seeds were cultivated to preserve the genetic diversity of the country's flora.

Nalaya still used its original crops, many wildly diverse and indigenous to certain regions. The country had passed legislation forbidding gene manipulation, many pesticides, and GMOs that companies had sought to import. The initial reasoning was General Vaneni insisting she wanted to maintain small farms without corporate interference, but now as the risks were illustrated, they had all been made even more glad about the decision.

She gently brushed a fingertip along the fronds of a small fern in front of her, the rough texture bringing a small smile to her face. Even though she was not a biologist, she did love nature. Standing in the desert section had also made her feel slightly more at home, silly or not.

[Riemaia]

The Zoo

Anneli enjoyed being pushed around in her wheelchair by Mara, enjoying the sights of the griffons. "They should try to get some Moas here too, I;m sure someone back home would be able to sell a pair of them for this lovely zoo." The Riemaian Moa was only indigenous to the southern-most points of Riemaia, but was in fact the national animal. "So pretty they are..." She said to herself as they continued to pass all the animals. "This place needs a large aquarium, just to make the collection of animals complete, don't you think? Ohh, and maybe an ant colony that you can see into, I think that would be totally nice as well!" Anneli liked what had been done with her donation so far, enjoying the sighs even more the deeper they got into the zoo. "I haven't been to a zoo in years..."

[New Edom]

At the Conservatory

Ashkhen was more than happy to escape from the party to view plants and the fascinating little climate controlled environments that housed them. For her, half the draw was the engineering and careful science that went into preserving these organisms in their ideal environment. A few degrees one way or another or a few percentage points of humidity could make impressive difference. It reminded her a great deal of the National Gardens in Sevan, where hundreds of thousands of plants and seeds were cultivated to preserve the genetic diversity of the country's flora.

Nalaya still used its original crops, many wildly diverse and indigenous to certain regions. The country had passed legislation forbidding gene manipulation, many pesticides, and GMOs that companies had sought to import. The initial reasoning was General Vaneni insisting she wanted to maintain small farms without corporate interference, but now as the risks were illustrated, they had all been made even more glad about the decision.

She gently brushed a fingertip along the fronds of a small fern in front of her, the rough texture bringing a small smile to her face. Even though she was not a biologist, she did love nature. Standing in the desert section had also made her feel slightly more at home, silly or not.

Burden, observing her, said, "I see, General, that you are fond of plants as well. Could there be anything more lovely than this? A few things I suppose...I find plants and insects and their interrelationships fascinating. Currently the Foundation is working on a biological solution to the bee mite crisis that I'm backing funding for. A great tragedy, and I can't help but think of how honeybees in particular have developed particularly to deal with that most singular of developments in the plant world: the flower." He sighed. "Tragically, we've only seen a few bees this year where we were accustomed to see many." His wife touched his arm and he looked saddened. "Forgive me if I have interrupted your reverie, General...if you'd rather not talk I'll leave you to it."

[New Edom]

The Zoo

Anneli enjoyed being pushed around in her wheelchair by Mara, enjoying the sights of the griffons. "They should try to get some Moas here too, I;m sure someone back home would be able to sell a pair of them for this lovely zoo." The Riemaian Moa was only indigenous to the southern-most points of Riemaia, but was in fact the national animal. "So pretty they are..." She said to herself as they continued to pass all the animals. "This place needs a large aquarium, just to make the collection of animals complete, don't you think? Ohh, and maybe an ant colony that you can see into, I think that would be totally nice as well!" Anneli liked what had been done with her donation so far, enjoying the sighs even more the deeper they got into the zoo. "I haven't been to a zoo in years..."

Mara said with surprise, "But It has an aquarium, didn't you know? Oh we'll go and see it, for certain, but before we do, I thought you might like to see a few other varieties of Griffon and other creatures?"

For there were Lesser Griffons--rather like a curve beaked giant stork, slender and high crested, stepping with agility in its marshy biome like space among Branta Geese, Great Waders, and with a huge spike helmed tortoise ignored by the birds. There was the Spectacled Griffon, with its huge tufted brows, by itself in its own habitat as it was a scrounger and inclined to attack roosting birds and reptiles, its eye tufts giving it a shrewd and thoughtful appearance. And there was the Royal Griffon, heavy and stocky and powerful looking, both male and female blue predominantly with yellow under bellies and under-necks. Their placard read "Extinct in the Wild". The ten foot birds, massively powerful, were among the sad remnant of the Miocene.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

The Museum

Prince Hugo wandered around the museum, looking at the paintings and reading the little cards that detailed what was depicted, who it was by and some general information that was always shared with the reviewer. He had always been a fan of history and although the zoo had sounded appealing, he was pleased to have some time away from his sister. He had agreed that he would meet up with the two Tartarian women once they were in the conservatory.

Military history had always been one of his favourites, so he spent time admiring each of the paintings the showed scenes of previous battles and uniforms worn in the past. He was not an expert on New Edom history, so he enjoyed learning a little more about it as he wandered around the exhibits.

* * * * *

The Zoo

Marissa was staring at the large griffon, her eyes wide as she had only ever seen such things in books and on screen. Her mouth had dropped open, as she peered at the two birds, before breaking into a huge smile as she thought about telling Alyssa all about her adventures. She wished that she had bought her camera with her or had at least had her phone on her. She had left both in her luggage that would be transported to the hotel that they would be staying at.

She looked back at Tia and found her talking to the same man she had been conversing with earlier and decided not to interfere.

Tia looked at Perrin and smiled. “No, nothing specific,” she said, pleasantly. “I am just going to follow the path or more importantly, Marissa. She was the one that wanted to see the animals first.” The young woman had been interested in the conservatory because she thought that Mara was more than likely to have a hand in it. “These are fascinating birds,” she added, looking at the creatures in the habitat.

[Nalaya]

Burden, observing her, said, "I see, General, that you are fond of plants as well. Could there be anything more lovely than this? A few things I suppose...I find plants and insects and their interrelationships fascinating. Currently the Foundation is working on a biological solution to the bee mite crisis that I'm backing funding for. A great tragedy, and I can't help but think of how honeybees in particular have developed particularly to deal with that most singular of developments in the plant world: the flower." He sighed. "Tragically, we've only seen a few bees this year where we were accustomed to see many." His wife touched his arm and he looked saddened. "Forgive me if I have interrupted your reverie, General...if you'd rather not talk I'll leave you to it."

"This is terrible," Ashkhen said, her own feelings clearly aligned with his. She loved bees, and kept carpenter bees on the base greens, diligently fending off the wasps that wanted to prey on them. "We have not had this bee blight strike us, though we did have a serious problem with some herbicides used in Kingstown by the city folk to keep weeds out of their lawn. It was terribly poisonous to honey bees, but thankfully quickly rectified. Honey is a rather traditional part of our culture, as are the marvelous insects who make it."

She sighed slightly. "I have had few opportunities to use my expertise in their protection. Perhaps if nothing else, we might be able to bring some queens to New Edom and see about adding some hybrid vigor. That might slow the effects of mites or at least mitigate it. I would hate to see them facing death here."

[United Slavic Nations]

Annya stood before a portrait of an attractive woman in awe. There were no paintings of the old Lords, as many masterpieces were destroyed in a xenophobic age of Slavingrad's history called The Great Purge. Looking about her, she saw many stunning art and history exhibits, including a life-sized chipper ship. Squealing with delight, she half-skipped, half-ran to the waiting line, stood there for about two minutes, then flitted over to an old infantryman's uniform, then to a painting depicting a battle scene, and several other displays. All in all, the entire visit was mainly just Miss Pytrova coming down with a terrible bout of Attention Deficit Disorder and running all over the building. At the end, she decided to just sit on an indoor bench and enjoy watching people walking by.

Even though she was smiling contently, she actually looked quite lonely by herself. "My," she said, exhausted. "I don't think I've ever walked that long in my life!"

[Hittanryan]

Touchstone and Finnhald

Touchstone abruptly seemed to snap to attention at mention of the sectarian violence, at which point he demanded to know the status of the Christian community. DeGroot offered a brief summary: "Safe at the moment, not likely to stay that way."

"By all accounts the Christians have the advantage for now, they're better organized and seem to have law enforcement on their side. So far, it looks like the usual pattern of unrest, but we're worried that could change," DeGroot explained. Friedman decided to elaborate: "The usual pattern goes as follows: Christian authorities upset Magi sensibilities, Magi mob busts up some Christian storefronts, gangs from both sides harass the other on the street for a while, Christian police crack down, Magi workers threaten strike, settlement reached, done and done. I think there's been a single death all these years, from the first and only car bomb to be detonated on the island. That actually prompted both sides to the negotiating table..."

"...what Ambassador Friedman is trying to say, I think," DeGroot interjected, "is that past sectarian conflicts have been low intensity." He seemed to consider his next words for a moment. "However, what the Magi islanders haven't had in the past is the unconditional support of a powerful, expansionist theocracy. Now when I say the Christians have the advantage for now, realize that the Imperium loves to play the victim. They will foster a persecution complex to justify sending aid to Magi partisans." "The Inquisition is already involved somehow, likely in organization and intelligence gathering, but the AIS has yet to uncover conclusive evidence of direct material aid," Friedman said tentatively.

Zoo

The two Adirans decided to go to the zoo first. Even if they didn't get to everything, in all likelihood they would be staying for a few days and would have a chance to revisit the museum. Tom went in the general direction of most of the crowd, stopping to take a peek at the griffons. The sign caught his attention, and he called ahead to Mara. "Hey Mara, any idea why the griffons are extinct in the wild? Habitat destruction? Over-hunting?"

Out of curiosity, Rhea had wandered off on her own to find a bird called, funnily enough, the rhea. It was a little disappointing to find out it was yet another pudgy, somewhat awkward giant flightless bird, but it was informative nonetheless.

[New Edom]

"This is terrible," Ashkhen said, her own feelings clearly aligned with his. She loved bees, and kept carpenter bees on the base greens, diligently fending off the wasps that wanted to prey on them. "We have not had this bee blight strike us, though we did have a serious problem with some herbicides used in Kingstown by the city folk to keep weeds out of their lawn. It was terribly poisonous to honey bees, but thankfully quickly rectified. Honey is a rather traditional part of our culture, as are the marvelous insects who make it."

She sighed slightly. "I have had few opportunities to use my expertise in their protection. Perhaps if nothing else, we might be able to bring some queens to New Edom and see about adding some hybrid vigor. That might slow the effects of mites or at least mitigate it. I would hate to see them facing death here."

"That would be most welcome," said Burden quietly. "I'm glad to hear you are fond of bees as well. I have been ever since I was a boy.."

"When he was a boy," Ophelia chimed in, "He did a project on bees, and later his 4H was a beehive. They are among his favorite insects, I think, aren't they Thad?"

"They are, they're fascinating wonderful creatures. wasps, pah! Nasty brutish things, I hate them though I have to admit I have to respect them. You have to admire such a successful creature. To be honest," he admitted, "At times when I have struggled with my faith wasps are among those creatures that cause me to wonder at the purity and goodness of God's creation...but then I remember the story of Job."

[Nalaya]

At the Conservatory

"Well, if one loves bees, a hatred of wasps is somewhat necessary," Ashkhen said thoughtfully. She understood how important to some people religion was. Clearly the man before her was a man of faith first. "But even wasps have their purpose. They keep a great many dangeroua pests at bay. Farmers would have quite the battle with numbers of caterpillars were it not for the rather vicious little creatures. Everything has its purpose in maintaining a balance. Perhaps we dislike it or do not understand it, but this seems to be quite the universal truth."

She dusted off one shoulder again, grateful that she took so much enjoyment from reading different religious texts. "As God said to Job, 'My ways are not your ways'. Nature seems as good a reflection of that as any, yes?"

Ashkhen had never been a particularly faith-driven woman, but she did seek to acquaint herself with that powerful force driving human history. As always, she did her homework. Religion was certainly something she had expected to come up in conversation, after all. It took a lot of work to hide her difficulties with speech, but it made her a very sharp conversationalist.

[Cossacks]

The Museum

Glycal stood eyeing the displays which were omnipresent in the museum; certainly a scholar of history, especially military history, would be greatly pleased. Glycal was not a great scholar of history in the traditional sense, however in Kazakia it was common for the greatest battles and mightiest victories experienced by warriors would be turned into songs- drinking songs granted, but still songs. Thus, Glycal knew very well of the wars during The Fall- he had just told the General of these matters, though he had lost him when the reception splintered into three groups. Possibly he had gone off to handle military matters, it was also possible that he had simply grown tired of the Ataman’s company, and still a third option was that he had gone to one of the other attractions or even one of the other exhibits here in the museum.

“I think I get the idea,” Glycal said looking at the large painting of the Queen Pretender, she was the only person he easily recognized and while he did not read the language the Edomites preferred, for it was not Latin or Russian, he did understand that the picture was referencing The Fall, and while the artwork was quite good and while he was not offended by the portrayal, he did decide he would have to speak to the first Edomite official he came across. Artwork was an important part of Cossack culture, despite much assumption that a race of warriors could not also be a race of artist and sculptors, it was simply not true. The Cossacks had a great respect for the arts and many museums much like this own dedicated to the display of art, though unlike other cultures, all Cossack art was used exclusively to immortalize battles and communicate tales of warfare. As a result, the Cossacks would be intrigued by the ability to see Edomite renderings of the war, and would likely be willing to negotiate some kind of temporary trade. Surely the Edomites would be just as pleased to see Cossack portrayals of The Fall, as the Cossacks would be.

The Conservatory

Sybilla had splintered away from the Princess and Empress, they had been pleasant enough company however Sybilla preferred those more conservative in nature. Nature was actually what she was viewing right now, at the Conservatory. She had tried to convince her brother to come with her, but he was not prepared to spend a moment more in the Edomite sun than was absolutely required, and therefore the humidity of a rainforest was perhaps the last place he would want to be. Granted, Sybilla was certainly hot, having been raised in the snow-covered hills and plains of Kazakia, this heat was not something to which she was accustomed- but that was exactly why she had to be here. She had a unique opportunity to look at life which could never be seen in her homeland. Other than the Cossack Steed of course, the Federation cared very little for the diversity of natural life and this combined with the frigid climate ensured that there was not, to Sybilla’s knowledge, a single zoo or conservatory in the entire nation.

Still, there was something about the Conservatory which was inherently Cossack in Sybilla’s mind. Upon reflection she determined it to be the wonderful freedoms of the establishment. There were trails and there were plants, which trail you walked along provided you with which plants you would see, the museum and the zoo were both surely set up to ensure people could see all the displays, but not necessarily the Conservatory- something Sybilla appreciated greatly. Insects were also a matter of interest, they had few of them in the icy provinces of the north- and the chance to view them in a calm environment where they could be specimens rather than pest was also quite refreshing and relieved her mind from the fact that she had been away from the Motherland and without news from it for a while now, something that did not sit well with her.

[Constaniana]

At the Zoo

"Woah Maximus,, these birds are huge...we don't have anything like this back home," Irene said in wonder as they had walked to the section with the griffons in it. Well, walked wasn't the best description. More like an over excited Irene dragging a grumbling complaining Maximus around everywhere. "So? I bet these people have never seen a Giant Badger or a Rhiagoor anything we have," Maximus said, a little disinterested. " Oh come on Maxie, these are birds, you love things that fly, " Irene answered back a little sarcastically. Maximus laughed. "And you're supposed to be the smart one? These birds can't fly, it says so right there on the blooming plaque!" He said, smiling jokingly. "Well at any rate I'm still smarter than you, " Irene shot right back, with a wink. Maximus rolled his eyes and shook his head. "So what are we going to do now?" He asked, hoping he could her back to the hotel. "You're not escaping that quick Maximus. Come on, let's look at some more stuff, she said, and Maximus groaned. "You're nearly as bad as that insane communist woman, " he said.

[New Edom]

The Zoo

"They are fascinating birds," agreed Perrin. Listening to Tom's question, Mara said, "Habitat damage, over hunting, and competitive predators eating their eggs. Since they're so big they're forced to incubate their eggs on a ground nest you can see for meters around. The species aren't all extinct in the wild--The Royal ones are for a very simple reason--their mating habits." she brushed at a tear. "Sad isn't it? They're so magnificent, but they mate kind of like the way penguins do. So the male guards the egg while the female goes off to hunt; they switch off. It's sort of...well...sad. You see the female builds the nest after mating, and then stays there for some reason without hunting till she has laid the egg. But then the male comes back and relieves her while it is incubating alone. The thing is now and then he has to go off to hunt and that's when rats, lizards, other birds, or wild pigs tend to get them. Or human hunters, frankly. The Great Crested Griffon, by contrast, is endangered, but they mate for life and the pairs defend and hunt for the young together. They also have two chicks instead of one. And the Lesser Griffon and Spectacled Griffon are opportunistic scavengers as well as hunters, and they're omnivorous. So they are actually pests in some parts--it's pretty scary seeing a flock of Lesser Griffons taking on a flock of sheep. And you can see Spectacled Griffons in garbage dumps on the edge of cities sometimes, and sometimes groups of them haunt fishing barges and stuff like that."

[New Edom]

The Museum

As the Soviet leader ran around frantically, rushing past people, exclaiming and acting generally eccentric, not even pausing for conversation, rushing from one thing to another like an OCD toddler, the Ataman of the Cossacks was admiring the "War of Liberation" section of the museum. As he was looking up at a portrait of Queen Adah the First a woman in a rather loose interpretation of traditional Baran woman's dress approached, glanced up at the painting and smiled, standing near him. "I believe the painting captures her essence as a ruler and a woman rather well," she said quietly. "A very strong woman and yet very much a woman." she turned to him and smiled. "My apologies, I doubt we have been properly introduced. I'm Countess Olivia Lalery."

[Gehenna Tartarus]

The Museum

Prince Hugo was not sure what was wrong with some people. First there was a young girl at the reception without any companion and now there was a woman skipping around the museum and talking to herself. Normally when he saw someone meandering around the exhibits, he liked to converse with them and share and opinion or two, but he was not sure the woman was someone sane enough to talk to. His friend, Tia had spoken of some of the strange things that had happened in New Edom, but it seemed that those from outside New Edom were even stranger.

He then spotted another person that he had seen in the reception, but they had not been introduced. He paused for a moment, debating whether or not to intrude on the man’s viewings and decided once again to keep to himself. Sometimes walking around museums was best done at a person’s own pace, so that they could leisurely read about each item.

* * * * *

The Zoo

Tia listened to Mara explain about the Griffons and then she walked over to Marissa, who had moved on to the next habitat, as was reading the sign. The Tartarian princess was fascinated by the different animals, ones that she had not seen in any zoo in the Empire. “Are you having fun?” She asked once she was close enough for Marissa to hear her.

“This is very exciting,” Marissa replied, briefly turning away from watching the birds and greeting her friend with a smile. “I was not sure what it was going to be like her, but I think I like New Edom. The people are so nice, especially that Empress Anneli, although she seems to talk about some of the strangest things, but they are interesting.”

Tia nodded and broke into a smile. “The Empress is certainly very pleasant,” she replied, casting a brief glance at Anneli and Mara, who was pushing her.

“Are you ready to move on to the next animal?” She said, as she finished looking at the bird and slipped her arm through Tia’s. “This is not an aviary, is it? I mean, there are going to be furry animals? I like birds but they all look the same and just kind of sit and stare at you, like you are the person in the zoo. I wander if they have normal animals as well as these weird ones. I hope they have a dragon. Alyssa mentioned that the elf that she had been speaking to had seen a dragon. Do you think it is possible to keep a dragon in a zoo?”

The other Tartarian shrugged her shoulders and laughed. “I am sure we will find out.”

[Cossacks]

The Museum, New Edom

Glycal looked from the paintings and artwork and saw the provocatively dressed women approach him, and was somewhat surprised. Perhaps she did not know he was a Cossack and that she was a woman, or perhaps she wanted to see if the rumors about Cossacks murdering any women who speak in public were true. However, it was abnormal for Cossacks to simply attack the policies of foreign nations while in said nations, unless speaking to people who agreed with them, the General for example seemed to appreciate Cossack’s views on women. It was also atypical for Cossacks to intentionally be rude, save for someone approached them with a particularly aggressive stance, such as the foolish woman diplomat earlier. Still, she had approached and immediately brought up the matter of women and their ability to rule, and she was certainly clothed poorly- still Glycal was not here to cause an international incident and if insult was her goal, she was, at the very least, more interesting than the previous woman to speak with him.

“We Cossacks don’t have women leaders to admire- though if we were to start admiring women who held leadership roles, its likely that your Queen would be near the top of our list. A warrior and a woman, a quaint mixture with very potent results,” Glycal said attempting to be both honest and diplomatic. “Yes, she was one of the major causes of The Fall, a dark time that brought out the very best in men… and women,” he added as an afterthought. “I am Ataman Glycal Rhysin of the Imperial Province of Kazakia and also the Federation of Cossacks, a pleasure to meet you.” He responded, though he was not entirely sure how to greet a woman if he was to pretend they were equals, so he simply nodded his head.

[New Edom]

The Zoo

Mara paused, glancing at the Tartaran girls. "Well, no, of course it's not just birds--it's just that birds are what we're famous for! But no, we have Goblin Monkeys, River Metatheres, Toxodons, Nilgais, Great Roamers, Boas, Lorises, Short Horned Rhinos, Giant Pouched Rats, Giant Camels, Hesperus Foxes, Plains Beavers, Ladder Horns, Long Eared Hedgehogs...all kinds of stuff!" Mara rattled off, leading them away from the Griffon enclosures towards an area where there was a large building that resembled a set of sandstone cliffs with the pathway painted like a river around them, and inside they found a musky strange dim world. There in this area they found nocturnal Goblin Monkeys, long faced white fringed creatures with brown silky fur, visible brow ridges, with the males distinctly bigger than the females, scrambling along artificial vines and cliffs, picking up nuts and fruit, quarreling, fighting, mating, relaxing, eating.

In this environment they found the long eared hedgehog pattering slowly across a grassy lawn like arrangement, and the River Metathere, a creature rather like a cross between an otter and a mongoose, with a lightly spotted curving back and a weasel like scamper, slipping in and out of a dark pool as though it had been inked there.

It turned out that the Hesperus Fox wasn't really a fox at all--it was a strange slim almost catlike creature, with a longish neck and dextrous sinuous body, a bushy tail, slim legs and a narrow muzzle. Unlike a cat it did not have powerful pouncing legs, nor did it have the strong running legs of a dog; it was something in between, almost like a civet, with a crouching wary walk and long whiskers; it was dark grey and black and had large nocturnal eyes.

Among other creatures was the soft looking fox faced brushtail opossum, with its body like that of a plump plushy squirrel and its large wise looking eyes. Finally there was the slow loris, padding up and down its branches looking for an insectoid snack or some nectar.

[New Edom]

Hittanryan

"Mr. President De Groote, what is your country's relationship with East Klamath?" asked Touchstone. "I take it that it is a subtle one, and that part of your balance of power with the Imperium involves you not expanding power on either side without necessary provocation?" His wheels were turning in his mind, and he was thinking rapidly. Sif knew the signs and spoke to Friedman. "Has any of this been brought up in the World Assembly or with friendly nations there, to seek possibly mediation and investigation? I'd hate to think that all avenues of possibility had not yet been explored..."

[Gehenna Tartarus]

The Zoo

Marissa was thrilled when Mara mentioned that there were other animals and walked across to the building that had been pointed out to them. She always found it fascinating when they hid animals inside interesting looking buildings, as it usually meant that she was going to see something that liked the dark or a certain temperature to that outside. Or it was some form of snake or reptile, which she really was not keen on. She normally avoided reptile and insect houses if she could avoid it, not being a fan of either.

Tia followed her inside and they both walked from one habitat to the next, reading the information about each of the animals and discussing the creature once they looked at it. The slightly older Tartarian was not as excited with the animals as the princess, but she had an enjoyable time looking at the unusual species that the zoo had in it. She was somewhat grateful that the place was not full of traditional animals, as she had gotten used to the weird and wonderful while she lived in Roania, and while all animals were interesting, some were less so than others.

“That one is so cute,” Marissa exclaimed as she looked into the wide eyes of the opossum. “There are times I wish it was possible to have such creatures as pets, but Mama will not even have a cat in the house, so I doubt she would allow some wild creature inside.”

Tia laughed. “I am not sure how easy it would be to house one at home,” she said, as she looked around them at the environment it was in. “If you have to build a special habitat for it, I do not think that your mother would be the only one complaining. And they probably make a lot of mess and need a lot of attention. Would you really want to tie up all your spare time looking after a pet?”

“I suppose you are right,” Marissa replied, with a smile. “Perhaps they sell a stuff cuddly version in the gift store. Do you think they have a gift store?”

“I would think so,” Tia answered, with a slight frown. “It might not be open today, though, as this is a special gala. We can come back tomorrow and have a look, after the jousting.”

The princess laughed lightly. “Oh, I had almost forgotten about the jousting. It does sound very exciting. I am a bit concerned about going in a dress, as Anneli said that you should always wear trousers. I did not bring any with me, as no one mentioned that we would need a pair.”

“I probably have a pair you can borrow or we can both wear dresses,” Tia said, as she guided the princess to the next display notice. “This one is called a Loris. Ah, there it is up there on the branch.”

[New Edom]

The Museum--Cossacks

"Oh my gosh..." Olivia's eyes widened and she stared at him, and stepped back, putting a hand to her heart--looked side to side at him, walked a little bit around him, shaking her head, and then suddenly opened her purse and took out a note pad and began writing things down. "I'm sorry, I know this looks ridiculous but I'm old fashioned, I love writing notes with a pen...sorry, that's utterly fantastic, everything you said. You're a Cossack, a brave, heroic warrior, almost out of place in this strange decadent age of ours. Oh yes, so many men pose well these days, but do they know real life? To...um...ride a horse with the wind blowing through its mane? Do they know the taste of...fermented liquors...fermented while attached to a goatskin on the saddle, hear the maned wolves howling...I'm sorry, taking notes...please continue Ataman...it's just fantastic to have met you!!!"

[New Edom]

Zoo

Unfortunately, the Loris didn't do a great deal other than pause on its branch and blink quietly. After a while Mara led everyone out of the dark habitat and into the light again, where they were dazzled by the display of a peacock wandering across a path. Not far from the nocturnal habitats was another habitat house, this one partly outside, devoted to reptiles and amphibians. While a number of them were familiar (albeit impressive) such as various tortoises, boas, pythons and crocodilians (a large salt water crocodile in a huge tank that was sunk deep enough that even that powerful beast could not leap free) the most exotic was the Great Wanderer or Meglana. It was like a monitor lizard--if a monitor lizard were nearly 14 feet long. It was a beast from another age, the card reading that it was critically endangered in the wild. The creature's tongue looked like a forked red hand sticking out its mouth when it darted out, its head big enough to swallow a person's legs, and when it moved there was a heavy treading rasp as though a car was easing forward. The beast had the same general build of a monitor, and was a dark green with yellow spots along the upper edges of its sides, with dark ridged brows above its muddy eyes. The Great Wanderer apparently preyed on anything it could catch--small crocodiles and gavials, fish, goats, pigs, antelope, deer, birds, domestic animals and even humans if they were unawary. It was capable of enormous speed for short distances with its powerful legs and tail guiding it.

[Cossacks]

New Edom- The Museum

“You have never been to Kazakia I take it,” the Ataman said as he reexamined this women, now he had determined she was clearly mad, but mad women had always proven more interesting and less easily insulted that sane ones. “You may think that time has marched past us, but in Kazakia, time has halted its march long ago. We are not a land of cars; we are an icy realm where men still ride the horse, where packs of wolf run untouched by society’s encroachment. In Kazakia, time is as frozen as the lakes you see?”

Glycal stared at her, she was taking notes in a frenzy, wandering about, murmuring to herself. He was trying to catch her eye, force her to calm down, but it did nothing to calm her from her state. Whatever she was doing she was very intent on doing it, fully consumed with her strange work. Glycal didn’t know what she was definitely, but he had seen women like her before in the motherland- in all probability she was an artist, then again he saw no sketches, only her feverously recording notes and quotes.

“What… are you?” He asked slowly, not fully aware if such a question was one that could cause insult, mannerisms in the large open world could certainly be a Cossack’s downfall.