Purgation International Academy (IC, MT, Closed)

[Adab]

Aida noticed this girl with the glasses approaching David and even introducing herself to him. She hadn't seen this girl before. Maybe the girl had been there the entire time and she just didn't see her. She watched warily as David answered the girl with his own name and apparently talked about his "very great and famous" father. He keeps giving me the creeps. Hopefully that girl doesn't do... anything. It will only end badly for her.

Cel was looking in her direction and she nodded her head, in recognition of her presence before swallowing aanother mouthful of the delicious food. She was eating rather a lot, and she didn't particularly care: this was a banquet after all, if their was not enough food then it only showed that the preparations had been inadequate and that this magnificus dominus character was not the perfect ruler he liked to paint himself to be.
"Enjoying yourself?" she finally asked Cel after what would probably feel like an age to the other girl. "I chose to come here because, you know, it's so different from home. Home is just chaotic, it's filled with slackers and criminals who really don't need to be. This country seems to have sorted out its unproductivity issue once and for all."

"Hi there," said Aida, slowly approaching the two girls. "I didn't see you earlier at the academy. What's your name? How long have you been here... if you don't mind me asking?"

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Aida noticed this girl with the glasses approaching David and even introducing herself to him. She hadn't seen this girl before. Maybe the girl had been there the entire time and she just didn't see her. She watched warily as David answered the girl with his own name and apparently talked about his "very great and famous" father. He keeps giving me the creeps. Hopefully that girl doesn't do... anything. It will only end badly for her.

Cel was looking in her direction and she nodded her head, in recognition of her presence before swallowing aanother mouthful of the delicious food. She was eating rather a lot, and she didn't particularly care: this was a banquet after all, if their was not enough food then it only showed that the preparations had been inadequate and that this magnificus dominus character was not the perfect ruler he liked to paint himself to be.
"Enjoying yourself?" she finally asked Cel after what would probably feel like an age to the other girl. "I chose to come here because, you know, it's so different from home. Home is just chaotic, it's filled with slackers and criminals who really don't need to be. This country seems to have sorted out its unproductivity issue once and for all."

"Hi there," said Aida, slowly approaching the two girls. "I didn't see you earlier at the academy. What's your name? How long have you been here... if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm mariana," she said as another girl approached. Great...more smalltalk, but with two people at the same time! This day was going terificly already.
"I'm from Celeria. How about you?"

[The Selkie]

Mariana had enjoyed the speech of the magnificus dominus as well as the ride up to the palace. This was how a proper society should be run, she knew, though something told her that the other students on the exchange programme would not agree with her beliefs concerning order and discipline in a society: they were blinkered by some abstract notion of liberty and freedom of choice. If only they knew what they could gain, freedom from crime, not carrying the burden of paying for the unemployed and addicted, not having to fund hopeless medical programmes for people who would never get better; sometimes, the most merciful thing, both for a nation and for the person themselves was a quick and final injection.
All this she knew, though her parents would scold her for repeating that in their home. They, freedom-loving clansmen from Celeria's more backwards South were used to not being told what to do, and being able to resist anybody who tried with enough private military muscle to make him think again: this would change though. One day within her lifetime, the people of Celeria would get used to having their lives ordered; and she, Mariana Turos, intended on being the woman who would bring such a change about in her godsforsaken country.
For now though, she had to work on something a lot harder than political revolution, and that was smalltalk. She'd never really been good at smalltalk, it didn't come naturally to her: in her mind their were two different forms of conversation, those being useful talk that actually improved ones life and agenda, and mindless babble which only served to pass the time. Smalltalk was definitely the second variety of speech and it was not something she was particular adept at: no worries though, she thought, one has to keep up appearances in order to succeed.

Cel was looking in her direction and she nodded her head, in recognition of her presence before swallowing aanother mouthful of the delicious food. She was eating rather a lot, and she didn't particularly care: this was a banquet after all, if their was not enough food then it only showed that the preparations had been inadequate and that this magnificus dominus character was not the perfect ruler he liked to paint himself to be.
"Enjoying yourself?" she finally asked Cel after what would probably feel like an age to the other girl. "I chose to come here because, you know, it's so different from home. Home is just chaotic, it's filled with slackers and criminals who really don't need to be. This country seems to have sorted out its unproductivity issue once and for all."

I smiled at Mariana, glad to see at least one polite face closeby.
"I'm enjoying myself.", I replied and nodded, "Indeed, it is very different from my home, too. But at the same time, there are things similar to it. For example, we are far less centralized then Purgatio, it seems, but we also solved the 'unproductivity issue', as you called it. Perputual slackers and criminals don't stand a chance here or there." I let a beat pass and gave a nervous smile. "I must admit, that I am a bit overwhelmed by the size of everything - compared to Ravaliér, Cuan is but a hamlet!"

[...]
"Hi there," said Aida, slowly approaching the two girls. "I didn't see you earlier at the academy. What's your name? How long have you been here... if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm Celina.", I added to what Marianna was saying, "From Cuan, in the Free Lands. And who are you?"
The new girl was polite-looking and seemed nice enough - I had missed her watching David and his new flame, but I shared her hopes. Hopefully, that boy would get some sense knocked into him.

[Adab]

"I'm mariana," she said as another girl approached. Great...more smalltalk, but with two people at the same time! This day was going terificly already.
"I'm from Celeria. How about you?"

"I'm Celina.", I added to what Marianna was saying, "From Cuan, in the Free Lands. And who are you?"
The new girl was polite-looking and seemed nice enough - I had missed her watching David and his new flame, but I shared her hopes. Hopefully, that boy would get some sense knocked into him.

"My name's Aida. I'm from the Empire of Adab. I was born in Kuwait City, then lived for most of my childhood and teenage years in Baghdad because my father worked there, and now I live in Adab City, being a student of the University of Adab there. So yeah, quite the itinerant life," Aida said. "You're Mariana and you're Celina. Did I get your names right? Please tell me I did." She smiled at the two girls.

[The Selkie]

"My name's Aida. I'm from the Empire of Adab. I was born in Kuwait City, then lived for most of my childhood and teenage years in Baghdad because my father worked there, and now I live in Adab City, being a student of the University of Adab there. So yeah, quite the itinerant life," Aida said. "You're Mariana and you're Celina. Did I get your names right? Please tell me I did." She smiled at the two girls.

I smiled as she retold her life - mine was a bit boring, actually, having lived in Cuan all my life, the only times of fun being when I was with my foxes.
Anyway...
"You did, Aida, but friends call me Cel.", I said with a nod, that said, that she could indeed call me Cel, like friends did. She seemed nice enough and she was older then me, if I'm not mistaken. Regardless, I still felt like one of youngest amongst us. "Celina is something my parents call me, when they're angry, or my teachers during lessons - or some useless blokes during business dinners with my parents."

[Adab]

"You did, Aida, but friends call me Cel.", I said with a nod, that said, that she could indeed call me Cel, like friends did. She seemed nice enough and she was older then me, if I'm not mistaken. Regardless, I still felt like one of youngest amongst us. "Celina is something my parents call me, when they're angry, or my teachers during lessons - or some useless blokes during business dinners with my parents.

"When my parents or teachers are angry at me, they just call me... well, Aida." She stifled her laugh so as not to cause too much noise in the place. "Seems I've never really had a nickname at all."

[The Selkie]

"When my parents or teachers are angry at me, they just call me... well, Aida." She stifled her laugh so as not to cause too much noise in the place. "Seems I've never really had a nickname at all."

"Your name's short enough.", I said with a smile and a wink, before I motioned to Mariana's other side. "Have a seat, we have room to spare and there's no need to stand around. Mariana and I were just talking about similarities and differences to hime, or how we see them, for now." I let a beat pass. "What do you think? Of our gracious hosts, I mean?"

[Adab]

"When my parents or teachers are angry at me, they just call me... well, Aida." She stifled her laugh so as not to cause too much noise in the place. "Seems I've never really had a nickname at all."

"Your name's short enough.", I said with a smile and a wink, before I motioned to Mariana's other side. "Have a seat, we have room to spare and there's no need to stand around. Mariana and I were just talking about similarities and differences to hime, or how we see them, for now." I let a beat pass. "What do you think? Of our gracious hosts, I mean?"

"They're... impressive, I think," Aida replied, taking a second to consider her choice of words. "The leader - the Magnificus Dominus, I think that's how he's called - he does seem to be welcoming and he's a really good speaker. I suppose you can say he left quite the impression."

[The Selkie]

"They're... impressive, I think," Aida replied, taking a second to consider her choice of words. "The leader - the Magnificus Dominus, I think that's how he's called - he does seem to be welcoming and he's a really good speaker. I suppose you can say he left quite the impression."

I nodded.
"He indeed is.", I agreed wholeheartedly. He indeed was a good speaker, and he left and impression on me. "He's very different from Old Cormac. That's one of the Elders, he resides in Cuan. But both are powerful speakers, to be honest, but they achieve the power of their words in different ways. It's hard to describe, when you haven't seen both in action." I smiled, however. "They are quite welcoming here, though, and the food is good."

[Greater vakolicci haven]

"They're... impressive, I think," Aida replied, taking a second to consider her choice of words. "The leader - the Magnificus Dominus, I think that's how he's called - he does seem to be welcoming and he's a really good speaker. I suppose you can say he left quite the impression."

I nodded.
"He indeed is.", I agreed wholeheartedly. He indeed was a good speaker, and he left and impression on me. "He's very different from Old Cormac. That's one of the Elders, he resides in Cuan. But both are powerful speakers, to be honest, but they achieve the power of their words in different ways. It's hard to describe, when you haven't seen both in action." I smiled, however. "They are quite welcoming here, though, and the food is good."

"I'm guessing you know something about this country before you came?" Mariana asked...not small talk, good. "About the killings, I mean? They've managed to completely get rid of genetic impurity, so they have no more addicts, no more people genetically predisposed to crime, no more useless disabled people...isn't that impressive?"

[Adab]

I nodded.
"He indeed is.", I agreed wholeheartedly. He indeed was a good speaker, and he left and impression on me. "He's very different from Old Cormac. That's one of the Elders, he resides in Cuan. But both are powerful speakers, to be honest, but they achieve the power of their words in different ways. It's hard to describe, when you haven't seen both in action." I smiled, however. "They are quite welcoming here, though, and the food is good."

"I'm guessing you know something about this country before you came?" Mariana asked...not small talk, good. "About the killings, I mean? They've managed to completely get rid of genetic impurity, so they have no more addicts, no more people genetically predisposed to crime, no more useless disabled people...isn't that impressive?"

"That's impressive, I guess. One way to achieve... you know, peace in this country," said Aida. "I used to think my great-great-grandfather the Emperor was quite... effective when he had one thousand communists executed in the public square for rebelling against the country, or so the stories say, but that's nothing compared to the Magnificus Dominus."

[The Selkie]

"I'm guessing you know something about this country before you came?" Mariana asked...not small talk, good. "About the killings, I mean? They've managed to completely get rid of genetic impurity, so they have no more addicts, no more people genetically predisposed to crime, no more useless disabled people...isn't that impressive?"

I was silent for a few moments, listening to what Aida had to say and nodding - certainly one way to deal with that problem. And, to be honest, there were similar incidents in the history of the Free Lands.
"I have read about them, yes.", I said, the smile on my lips not vanishing, but dimmed, "And while I do not agree to many of the points I read about, I came here to learn. Both about school subjects and about them. Why are they the way they are? Why did they... as you put it, 'get rid of genetic impurity', why is the state the way it is? And especially..." I smiled at that. "...how are the people?"
I let a beat pass.
"I know, that I'll be rather singular amongst many of our classmates, but I have a judgement about our gracious hosts, but I will form one, with the experiences that I see with my own two eyes and hear with my own two ears.", I continued, then smiled, "And amongst us, one doesn't need to kill."

[Adab]

"I know, that I'll be rather singular amongst many of our classmates, but I have a judgement about our gracious hosts, but I will form one, with the experiences that I see with my own two eyes and hear with my own two ears.", I continued, then smiled, "And amongst us, one doesn't need to kill."

"Well, that makes two of us," Aida chimed in. "I just hope they don't catch wind of this. I don't want anything bad to happen, if you know what I mean."

[The Selkie]

"Well, that makes two of us," Aida chimed in. "I just hope they don't catch wind of this. I don't want anything bad to happen, if you know what I mean."

"Well, he himself said, that we were invited here to be... what was his phrase again..." I thought for a moment, before it came to me again: "...to be 'unofficial cultural ambassadors of this Dominion', so that the world might learn through our eyes. I believe, they're going to be glad, that we are at least going in neutrally and not dead-set against them." I looked at my two new acquaintances, somehow having the feeling, that some of our classmates were exactly that. I was glad, however, to have a kindered spirit in Aida. "I'm going to have to write a travelogue anyway, so why not?"

[Greater vakolicci haven]

"I know, that I'll be rather singular amongst many of our classmates, but I have a judgement about our gracious hosts, but I will form one, with the experiences that I see with my own two eyes and hear with my own two ears.", I continued, then smiled, "And amongst us, one doesn't need to kill."

"Well, that makes two of us," Aida chimed in. "I just hope they don't catch wind of this. I don't want anything bad to happen, if you know what I mean."

"Killing is sometimes necessary," Mariana chimed in, having to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the short-sighted idiocy of some of her fellows. "If it solves a problem and aids the state, I mean. Our government is known for its soft touch, so it's constantly being undermined by people with their own agendas and possibly more importantly their own little private armies. This is organised far better than that, I'd say."

[The Selkie]

"Killing is sometimes necessary," Mariana chimed in, having to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the short-sighted idiocy of some of her fellows. "If it solves a problem and aids the state, I mean. Our government is known for its soft touch, so it's constantly being undermined by people with their own agendas and possibly more importantly their own little private armies. This is organised far better than that, I'd say."

"You will always find people trying to undermine or exploit our system, that's a sad truth in our lives, no matter where you are.", I said, "Even here, I bet, that there are people, who exploit the system. What matters is, that these people are found out and, if they are guilty of that crime, punished... harshly. I have no doubt, that they do it here and I know, that we do it at home. But I still don't see any reason for a death penalty, sorry."
I let a beat pass.
"Back home, for example, if you are found guilty of a serious crime, you are imprisoned. You don't have holidays, though, but you are put to work, for example beating cobble stones out of the rock, from dawn til dusk.", I said and gave a small smile, "Let the criminals give something back to the society they robbed from."

[Adab]

"Killing is sometimes necessary," Mariana chimed in, having to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the short-sighted idiocy of some of her fellows. "If it solves a problem and aids the state, I mean. Our government is known for its soft touch, so it's constantly being undermined by people with their own agendas and possibly more importantly their own little private armies. This is organised far better than that, I'd say."

"You will always find people trying to undermine or exploit our system, that's a sad truth in our lives, no matter where you are.", I said, "Even here, I bet, that there are people, who exploit the system. What matters is, that these people are found out and, if they are guilty of that crime, punished... harshly. I have no doubt, that they do it here and I know, that we do it at home. But I still don't see any reason for a death penalty, sorry."
I let a beat pass.
"Back home, for example, if you are found guilty of a serious crime, you are imprisoned. You don't have holidays, though, but you are put to work, for example beating cobble stones out of the rock, from dawn til dusk.", I said and gave a small smile, "Let the criminals give something back to the society they robbed from."

"I'm still not sure about the death penalty," said Aida. "Many people say it's cruel, but on the other hand it does remove some of the worst criminals in society. My parents once took me to see someone about to be electrocuted in the city prison. I was about 11 or 12 at the time. My great-great-grandpa the Emperor apparently opened that one execution to the public, to make an example out of him. He was a corrupt executive or something, fixed some football - or do you call it soccer? - matches. But that year many people were executed because they were corrupt or got involved in scandals. At least that's what Papa told me."

[The Selkie]

"You will always find people trying to undermine or exploit our system, that's a sad truth in our lives, no matter where you are.", I said, "Even here, I bet, that there are people, who exploit the system. What matters is, that these people are found out and, if they are guilty of that crime, punished... harshly. I have no doubt, that they do it here and I know, that we do it at home. But I still don't see any reason for a death penalty, sorry."
I let a beat pass.
"Back home, for example, if you are found guilty of a serious crime, you are imprisoned. You don't have holidays, though, but you are put to work, for example beating cobble stones out of the rock, from dawn til dusk.", I said and gave a small smile, "Let the criminals give something back to the society they robbed from."

"I'm still not sure about the death penalty," said Aida. "Many people say it's cruel, but on the other hand it does remove some of the worst criminals in society. My parents once took me to see someone about to be electrocuted in the city prison. I was about 11 or 12 at the time. My great-great-grandpa the Emperor apparently opened that one execution to the public, to make an example out of him. He was a corrupt executive or something, fixed some football - or do you call it soccer? - matches. But that year many people were executed because they were corrupt or got involved in scandals. At least that's what Papa told me."

I nodded at Aida's point, understanding and accepting it.
"Football.", I said, also to buy a small bit of time. It was a popular sport back home. "There certainly are arguments for and against the death penalty. I personally prefer our system, mainly because it also knows the life-sentence." I smiled slightly. "And it gives people the chance to better themselves, if their sentence is done. I mean, you don't execute a child for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, you give it a slap on the wrist - and the child either gets better at not being caught or it doesn't steal a cookie from the cookie jar anymore." I let a beat pass. "As said, there are arguments for and against it."

[Adab]

"Football.", I said, also to buy a small bit of time. It was a popular sport back home. "There certainly are arguments for and against the death penalty. I personally prefer our system, mainly because it also knows the life-sentence." I smiled slightly. "And it gives people the chance to better themselves, if their sentence is done. I mean, you don't execute a child for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, you give it a slap on the wrist - and the child either gets better at not being caught or it doesn't steal a cookie from the cookie jar anymore." I let a beat pass. "As said, there are arguments for and against it."

"I can agree with that," said Aida. "It has its good side and its bad side, just like pretty much everything else here. It's just that we never know if people will truly better themselves once they've done their sentence, and in some cases people think it's better to just do away with them, make sure they will be unable to ever again commit a crime, because of course they're dead."

[Prussian Polish Commonwealth]

Marie smiled slightly, if still nervously.
"thank you..."
She took the seat beside him and began eating slowly from her plate. "...my name's Marie...what's yours?"

"It's David," he answered with a wide smile (he had taken care of his pearly whites shortly before by dabbing a napkin into incisors as he finished his meal), even as those green eyes did their duty, "David E. Dwarf. You might've heard of the name Dwarf; my father's a very great and famous man."

Marie blinked twice. "...who? I haven't heard of him, sorry..."

[Allyrije]

I was one of the later students to arrive at what this previously isolated nation could easily consider its most ambitious foreign relations experiment ever. Naturally, I was quite nervous. It was my first time travelling outside of my homeland and my English, whilst of a stellar quality, did not sound quite so authentic as my native accent was still all-pervasive with my trilled rs and such. However, I felt no lust for my home. Whilst I missed my mother and family, I was used to not seeing her for long periods of time as her job as Prime Minister often meant lots of time apart.

My plane journey from Allyria was smoother than I had expected but I didn't rest. My dark green Royal Rangers Officer Dress Uniform, whilst stylish and smart, was not at the pinnacle of what one would consider to be comfortable clothing. I took my dress hat off and rested my head against the taxi window. Whilst I had read a little about the land I was to be educated in for the next few years, I still knew little other than its long self-imposed isolation which I admired in a way as it mirrored my nation's not so distant past.

The taxi driver and I exchanged a few hushed comments but I think he detected my nerves and left it there as we sat in silence, travelling along the pristine roads of this new land with this silence being interrupted only by the occasional passing of another car. Whilst I had been born in one of Allyria's largest cities, I had seldom spent much time in it. Most of my time, until I was selected at 15 to be trained as an Officer in the army, was spent either in a rural school in the province of Endirije (whilst I was born in the city of Kal'Vathrin, I rarely spent much time there as my family's traditional holdings were around a 30 mile drive away from Kal'Vathrin which was the nearest city) or on one of my family's farms. I decided it to be better if I keep this to myself as I knew very little about the cultures and geography of the nations my fellow students originated from and perhaps the Allyrian style of life would be confusing or perhaps, even, mark me out amongst them and not in a way one could deem positive.

Regardless, my thoughts continued to spiral on just as the taxi I was in continued down what had begun to seem like an endless road. For now, at least, I would have to wait to see what my not-so-distant future held.

[Lillorainen]

Chris had nodded when Cel had suggested to compare songs later in her room - unbeknownst to himself, they had thought alike. Hopefully the walls were soundproofed. If not, it would surely be fun to explain to the others what on earth they were doing there ...
The conversation had been interrupted by Salomé and Jules-Pierre welcoming them all and telling them to head to the bus waiting outside to take them to the Purgation Executive Palace.
Ravaliér looked quite nice to him from the bus. Chris had noticed that some other students obviously had been overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city - a thing he couldn't tell from himself. He was quite used to cities with a population above a million, and also to metropolitan areas making up even five million or more in total. The Federation of Lillorainen was a highly urbanized country, after all - with only a couple of rather rural regions. Though, Cel had mentioned that her hometown was nowhere near a metropolis, not even by Selkie standards, so she certainly was not used to such big, crowded places.
Chris had already recognized the Volkshalle inspiration of the Executive Palace before Salomé had mentioned it - a similar structure also appeared in Lillamala, the capital city of the FL. After all, the planners for that completely planned city, which had replaced the neighboring metropolis of Lysköping as the Federal capital in the late 1980s, had gotten some of their inspiration from the same sources as the Purgations had used.
What had appeared more impressing to Chris was the dining hall of the Executive Palace. He absolutely wasn't used to such huge, elaboratedly decorated rooms at all. This, however, might have been because Chris didn't happen to have been born into a rich or influential family, but rather into an average one - which wasn't bad for Lillorainian standards, though.
He had bowed when the Magnificus Dominus had entered the hall accompanied by his wife, and he had listened attentively to his speech. It had reminded him of the famous first speech of Lillorainen's first President, Siegfried Heiderich, who had used quite similar words to describe what the nation should be saved from - in this case not really a surprise, as the FL had been founded a couple of years after the worst civil war that place had ever experienced.
He had grinned inwardly when the Magnificus Dominus had referred to them as unofficial cultural ambassadors. Thanks for promotion - he had thought.
Perfection, at any cost ... yes, they took this really seriously - this was one important point, the most important one actually, of the basic information Chris had been able to find about this fascinating place. Lillorainen's model of efficiency was nothing compared to this, and that was what Chris had always been amazed by about Purgatio.
Chris had taken a seat near Cel and Mariana - at least he had already talked to them, and they seemed very nice. Though, he had remained quiet and without attracting a lot of attention while they were talking to a girl around his age who turned out to be named Aida, as he had been busy enjoying the dinner. The food was just as delicious as their names suggested - although Chris hadn't understood a lot of them. Even more - he had the feeling it brought his taste buds back, which he assumed had gone lost during eight years of school cafeteria lunch.
The three girls seemed quite busy talking about a couple of issues, a notable amount of which included killing - this, and his quietness, probably was the reason he wasn't really noticed. The current one of these issues was the death penalty. Since he didn't really expect the topic to change to something less spicy anytime soon, but also didn't want to spend the rest of the dinner as a silent spectator, he decided to just step in. He moved forward with his chair a bit and waited for Aida to finish her statement. Then he nodded. "So, well ... yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that either. My home country legally does have the death penalty - but applies it maybe once every three years or something. Only if the deliquent turns out to be a basket case, when it comes to possible rehabilitation. Life-imprisonment is way more common." He shrugged. "Either way, they're sure to never commit a crime again."
Mah, Chris, haven't you forgotten something, ýou silly? - he suddenly thought.
Then he smiled, embarrassed a bit, and turned to Aida. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't wanna be impolite. My name's Chris. Actually Christopher, but yeah, Chris is fine."

[Adab]

Then he smiled, embarrassed a bit, and turned to Aida. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't wanna be impolite. My name's Chris. Actually Christopher, but yeah, Chris is fine."

"Oh hi there." Aida turned around, noticing the guy who was suddenly close to her. She extended her hand to him. "So you're Chris. My name is Aida, nice to meet you. Where did you come from, anyway?"

[Lillorainen]

Then he smiled, embarrassed a bit, and turned to Aida. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't wanna be impolite. My name's Chris. Actually Christopher, but yeah, Chris is fine."

"Oh hi there." Aida turned around, noticing the guy who was suddenly close to her. She extended her hand to him. "So you're Chris. My name is Aida, nice to meet you. Where did you come from, anyway?"

"Nice to meet you too, Aida" - Chris said and took her hand to shake it - carefully, of course, to prevent another embarrassing moment. "I'm from the Federation of Lillorainen. And you?"

[Adab]

"Nice to meet you too, Aida" - Chris said and took her hand to shake it - carefully, of course, to prevent another embarrassing moment. "I'm from the Federation of Lillorainen. And you?"

"I'm from the Empire of Adab. Adab City, to be more precise, but I'm there just because I attend the University of Adab," Aida explained. "I spent much of his life in Baghdad, because my father was an athlete and his club was there. And I wasn't even born there. I was born in Kuwait City. I still think of Baghdad as my hometown, though." She paused a bit, before adding, "Have you been here for a long time? How come I didn't see you earlier?"