Kingdom of Marimaia
22nd September 2017
Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the capital of the Kingdom of Marimaia was close to paradise if you liked it hot. Summers lasted from May until September, with temperatures only dipping below 30°C on extremely rare occasions and relative humidity ranging between 44% and 66%. In fact temperatures only tended to drop below 20°C from December to February, and even then they never usually dropped below 16°C. Rainfall usually comprised of isolated events between October and March, so umbrellas only ever made an appearance in Margravia City if they were being used for shade from the beaming sunshine. The buildings of Margravia City were therefore designed in an attempt to combat the heat through a number of methods, ranging from air conditioning and dehumidifiers to building in places where new constructions would cast shadows over existing structures; for the more exclusive and expensive buildings, more complex methods were being used such as underfloor cooling systems. The ruling Margrave family had become obscenely wealthy due to their nation's reserves of oil and natural gas, and they had wanted their capital city to be a monument to wealth and progress, so the extensive renovation and redevelopment of the city had started in 1971. Real estate projects continued to drive the city in the right direction, with land reclamation schemes and construction projects which were creating entire planned communities which had been designed down to the placement of every street light and tree. A four million square metre artificial island known as the Margrave Pearl was also nearing completion, featuring beach resorts, luxury boutiques, car showrooms, decadently lavish hotels, and high-end housing which was already subject to a three year waiting list.
On the inland outskirts of Margravia City lay the sprawling royal residential compound named Lysar Palace, just over five kilometres west from the fourteen square kilometre area known as Education City, which housed educational facilities from school age to research level as well as branch campuses of various universities. Lysar Palace was a recent construction as it had been built to be the primary residence of King Lysander, who had ascended to the throne in 2015 after the death of his father King Thomas II. Covering 781,200 square metres including the grounds, Lysar Palace actually consisted of the King's palace, three smaller palaces for his brother, sister, and mother respectively, the servants' quarters (which could be described as a palace in its own right), and various additional structures concerned with security, leisure, and any other aspects of royal existence which had been anticipated by the designers. Ever since the founding of the Kingdom of Marimaia in 1915 there had been four kings in total: King Thomas I, King Reginald, King Thomas II, and now King Lysander. A new palace had been constructed for each king and remained as part of the family's real estate so Lysander had the luxury of four palaces to choose from, located around the nation. He preferred Lysar Palace above all others due to the modern features and the fact that it had been named in his honour. The other three palaces did not lie fallow in his absence though, as Lysander appointed relatively minor members of the extended Margrave family to reside in the opulent residences as 'caretakers'. This was not just to ensure that the palaces were kept in good order, as these minor Margraves were regarded as potentially useful to the King if any family 'squabbles' arose. Lysander may have been a particularly egocentric and self-indulgent twenty four year old, but he had been educated to be a monarch from the day of his birth and so he knew how to play the political games of the Kingdom, even if he did not necessarily appear to be interested much of the time.
As it was a Friday, King Lysander was attending the weekly meeting with the Council of Ministers, a body which fulfilled the same role that a Cabinet would in other nations. Due to the nature of the Marimaian political system, Lysander was both King and Prime Minister, so all policy decisions were ultimately confirmed by him. In practise this meant that much of the work of government fell to his ministers, as the various Ministries developed potential new policies or alterations to existing ones and then proposed them to Lysander for either confirmation or rejection. Some outside observers may have concluded that the Council of Ministers was full of sycophants as the membership comprised exclusively of individuals from the extended Margrave family, noted loyal experts, and the influential Al-May'eem tribe which had collaborated with the Margraves when the Kingdom was founded, but the Council had a genuine desire to see the nation continue to prosper as they stood to benefit greatly from it. The conference room where the Council always met was decorated in white wall panelling with golden gilding, while a variety of portraits and landscapes in gilt frames finished off the ostentatious display. The large rectangular oak conference table which dominated the room was surrounded by eighteen matching antique oak chairs with plush white upholstery, nine on each long side, while a larger white and gilt throne was positioned at the head of the table; the eighteen chairs were currently occupied by the various Council members and the throne was occupied by King Lysander himself. At the King's right side stood Topan, Lysander's ever-present companion who appeared to fulfil a number of roles in his monarch's service. Recruited by King Thomas II to be a confidant for Lysander in his teenage years, the young man of Southeast Asian descent stood to Lysander's right side bearing a silver tray which carried a tall glass of sweet iced tea. After asking a question of the Council, Lysander liked to sip at a cool beverage through a long coloured straw while he listened to the response; sometimes iced tea, sometimes cherry-flavoured or vanilla-flavoured cola.
"Sir Randolph, what news from the Defense Ministry?"
Sir Randolph Warmsley leaned forward with a business-like expression. One of several Council members who had married into the Margrave family, Randolph was well regarded by the King due to his aristocratic demeanour and demonstrated competence in his position as Defense Minister. As he addressed Lysander, Randolph gave the same little nod of respect that he always performed when beginning to speak to his monarch.
"Your Majesty. The Royal Marimaian Defense Forces are always prepared to combat a possible incursion from any nation which might attempt to destroy this great kingdom, but while our equipment is more than up to the task there is always the possibility of better equipment being available. So I would like to organise the usual arms expo and foreign defense visits to ascertain if any of our current suppliers have developed new hardware which would be of interest to us. Duke Piers and I were also hoping that you could make some time for meetings with ambassadors and the like."
At this point Duke Piers Margrave weighed into the discussion. As Foreign Minister as well as one of Lysander's uncles, Piers was one of the more important individuals in the Kingdom of Marimaia.
"Sir Randolph and I believe that you do not need to make any formal meeting arrangements yourself, Your Majesty. The Foreign Ministry can inform the various embassies that you have some time open in your schedule and that you would be amenable to meeting ambassadors or other representatives if they themselves wish a meeting. It never hurts to reaffirm ties through a one-to-one discussion."
Lysander nodded. "I think I can get behind that plan." He paused for a moment as he crossed one leg over the other under the table to make himself more comfortable, and then reached for his drink. "Uncle Piers, once you have an idea of which ambassadors wish to meet with me then contact Hostewick and he'll sort out the finer details."
"Of course Your Majesty. I'm sure that we'll have a great deal of interest."
The young King smacked his lips slightly as he stopped sipping through the straw and smiled. "Of course you will. Now then Haydar, how is work progressing on the new King Lysander Ice Hall? If we're ever going to be taken seriously in ice hockey then our boys will need somewhere to train."
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With the meeting concluded the ministers were in the process of leaving the hallowed and air conditioned halls of Lysar Palace for their air conditioned luxury cars, while Lysander had headed directly for his private quarters with Topan in tow, meeting up with the royal butler Hostewick on the way. After casually tossing some proposal folders onto his plush emperor-size bed Lysander began removing his formal suit, leaving expensive tailored apparel crumpled on the cooled floor for Hostewick to collect while Topan perched himself on the side of the bed and watched as the rather naked King strode into his mahogany panelled walk-in closet. Despite being occupied with collecting up the expensive clothing which was strewn on the floor, Hostewick wasted no time in responding when the King shouted a question to him.
"Hostewick, what's my schedule like for the rest of the day?"
Hostewick maintained his usual neutral expression. "Well Your Majesty, you have the annual dinner with the leaders of the Hashid tribal confederation this evening at eight o'clock so I would recommend dressing for it at half past seven. So you essentially have eight hours for your own leisure."
"Excellent." Upon hearing the King's voice more clearly Hostewick turned to see Lysander dressed in a white martial arts uniform, signifying that he was about to embark on a self-defense lesson with Topan. Lysar Palace featured a state-of-the-art and well appointed training room which saw infinitely more use from Topan than Lysander, who only ever seemed to visit the palace gym when he was in the mood to continue learning basic defense techniques from his companion. Having served the Margrave family for many years and having observed Lysander as he grew up, Hostewick had rightly guessed long ago that the self-defense lessons usually developed into a different form of indoor physical activity between the pair. Considering that Topan shared Lysander's bed at night, it was not a particularly difficult guess.
"I'll ensure that everyone is aware that you are in a self-defense lesson and you are not to be disturbed under any circumstances for at least an hour and a half, Your Majesty."
Lysander grinned in response to the butler's statement. "Hostewick, you're a credit to your profession."
"Quite, Your Majesty."
