A Young King's Gamble (Re-Intro, Semi-Open, PMT)

[Levichstein]

bump

[Concordeia]

OOC: Wow, I wonder what the deal was with Grand Redosia.

IC: "Sounds like a plan. Do you think we might take a tour of the palace before the banquet? I'd like to know more about its history, and the history of Levichstein as well, if you don't mind that is," George requested.

[Levichstein]

OOC: Absolutely no idea. Guess he was either inactive or got banned.

IC: Hans nodded. "But of course. I was planning on doing that anyways." He stood up. He wasn't that tall, only about 5'11, so he wasn't exactly intimidating. Especially in the fancy clothing he was wearing.

"I suppose we can start with this room. The throne room was built around 700 years ago with the original palace. It was originally considered the Inner Sanctum of the palace, when the whole complex was only half this size. My great ancestors used this room for balls and banquets, as well as defending from attacks. Over the years, the room was renovated and converted to what it is now. For example, this." Hans tapped the touch-panel in the arm of throne and the holographic key-board projected out into the air, and the see-through screen unfolded from above the throne and descended down in front of the seat. "My father had this installed just a few years ago. Before the Civil War."

He strode over to the marble columns, placing a hand on one. "There is a lot of history in this building. I'll have to take you down to the Archives. It's where we keep all of the historical documents and artifacts that we've ever found or collected."

[Concordeia]

"You lead, we'll follow," George replied.

OOC: I'm basically not doing anything but listening until we get to the banquet part, so you can go ahead talk about history while we progress.

[Levichstein]

Hans led them on a tour of the palace, which took a few hours. The Palace was vast, and they actually didn't get to see all of it, it was so big. The halls were vast and most of the palace was gilded in gold and marble, with some silver and jewels here and there. Everyone treated Hans with extreme respect, bowing and staying bowed until he had fully passed.

Paintings adorned nearly every wall and ceiling, but none matched the majesty and size of the one in the Grand Dome. The Grand Dome was the massive main dome that towered nearly two hundred feet above the floor. It had a vast painting on the inside of it. The painting showed a circle of figures gathered around a massive glowing star. Around the floor of the dome-room were busts and sculptures of various people, all expertly carved in fine marble. The floor had an ornate mosaic pattern on it, with blues and reds and whites.

The final part of the tour led them to the banquet hall, where people were already beginning to pour into the room. Hans swung the doors aside and the sights and sounds flooded to the two visitor's senses. Everyone applauded Hans and the visitors as they entered, all of the other nobles bowing as Hans and the group made their way to the royal seating. There were five seats in the royal seating, one massive throne for Hans, and four other smaller thrones. Three of the four other thrones were occupied. The two on the left each had a young man sitting in them. One one about 15 and had light blonde hair; he was dressed in dark blue robes. The other boy was a bit older, but still younger than Hans. He had dark black hair, with a similar face to Hans. Sitting in the right was Alina, dressed in a flowing green dress and dark blue embroidery. Hans showed Gregory and Sam their seats. Sam was next to Alina, while George was next to Sam and a thin, happy looking man. He introduced himself as "Earl of Hirun". Alina turned to Sam.

"Good to see you again." she looked around, "Hans hasn't held a banquet in several years. Its good to see him having some fun again"

[Levichstein]

bump

[Concordeia]

OOC: I apologize for making you wait several times now, I've been juggling a whole bunch of different RPs lately between my college classes. I'll try and get a post in tomorrow.

[Levichstein]

OOC: No problem.

[Levichstein]

OOC: Bumpski

[Concordeia]

OOC: Again I'm sorry. I seem to be losing interest in this thread (not that I want to, but it happens). I'll try and keep up, but It may be a good idea to see if we can get more people involved, spice things up a bit.

IC: "Oh, uh, good to see you too, Lady Alina," Sam said, blushing again, but not as much as before. "Yeah, I imagine that King Hans is under a great deal of stress these days, what with trying to keep Levichstein's economy collapsing and all. I can't imagine how hard he must work to manage everything..."

While Sam conversed with Alina, George turned to the Earl of Hirun. "Pleased to meet you, I'm George Bedford, diplomat on behalf of Concordeia. An earl, huh? Sounds like a pretty prestigious position to be in...opps," George laughed. "I'm sorry, I hate it when I make alliterations like that without realizing it."

[Levichstein]

Alina nodded. "Indeed. It is difficult. He's been extremely stressed out and its been hard on the whole country." She sighed, "I can't help but think that he's going work himself to death."

The Earl of Hirun nodded. "It is prestigious, I suppose. Although, not as important as a Duke. But, that all comes in time, I suppose. And alliterations make no difference to me. I tend to do it as well, although always abruptly." he laughed.

[Concordeia]

OOC: The diplomats engage in small talk with the royal family members. Is King Hans going to address the crowd or is everyone just going to eat and converse for now? I just want to get a feel for what my guys should do next.

[Levichstein]

OOC: Yeah, he is going to address everyone. Just was waiting for you to post.

[Concordeia]

OOC: It's alright, you don't have to wait for me. The way I see it, since you are the host nation, you pretty much get to initiate the talks. Besides, I really don't have much to say in terms of small talk anyway.

[Cyrupe]

"George," President Charles Flaeur called out, comfortably laying on a brown, leather sofa in the Presidential office. "Why are we receiving a broadcast from Levichstein? I've never even heard of that nation before now. Well, maybe I have heard of it but I really cannot say for sure. Seem like unique fellows." George, barely able to hear the new President over the television came closer into the room. "Indeed, sir. Perhaps we should communicate with them? After all they look quite friendly. It wouldn't hurt us to find a couple more economic trade partners, you know?"

"Right you are, George. Right you are. Well, the broadcast seems like it's not live. At least it doesn't look like it. Either way, we'll send them a friendly message and hopefully arrange a meeting of some form. Let's just hope this isn't a broadcast from a couple of decades ago or something. That would be very embarrassing for us, wouldn't it?" George smiled silently from behind the corner. He never was one to show emotion, especially in front of people who were superior to him. "Quite sir. Well, I suggest we get a broadcast sent off to them. Must do this in great haste if we're to have any chance with these people."

Charles followed George down the hallway, magnificently beautiful in every way. Computer screens from inside the broadcasting studio lit the hallway itself with an eerie blueish-green glow. With a slight hiss, the door opened. The room, for the most part, was completely sealed off from the rest of the building. Nothing in and certainly nothing out without permission from those in charge. Charles stepped onto the platform which sat before a rather plain dark gray background. George gave Charles a thumbs up motion signaling that the recording would begin.

A robotic, distinctly feminine voice spoke in a monotone fashion. "Cyrupe. A better world today." While the standardized Cyrupean logo was displayed.

Charles, a young looking man with almost white hair looked handsome in his black suit, white shirt and black tie. His muscular frame bulged slightly out of the suit, which came very close to being one size too small. "Greetings." He said with a smile on his face. "I am Charles Flaeur, current reigning president of Cyrupe. We saw your broadcast detailing your plans. Needless to say, we're quite impressed. As an economic power in our region, we would be honored to assist you in fulfilling those plans without causing a needless strain on your nation's people. Most notably we are highly interested in trading with your nation. We feel it would be beneficial to all parties involved.

Perhaps we can arrange some form of diplomatic meetings. Be it in our glorious empire or in your kingdom. Whichever is more convenient for you." The standardized logo was displayed a final time with the robotic voice saying "End message." In it's monotone voice. Charles stepped off the platform and away from the eyes of the camera. Now all that was left was to wait.

[Levichstein]

Levichstein Palace

The banquet hall was loud and bustling with life, so when the entire room suddenly went quiet, it seemed so odd. But the reason for the silence was obvious. Hans had stood up and held up his hand. Once there was not even the slightest murmur of noise, he took and deep breath and spoke a few words. "Please, ladies and gentlemen, rise for the Royal Anthem." Everyone in the room did just that, standing up with uniform precision. In a corner of the room, a large orchestra-style band to began to play a song. As it started, everyone, including Hans, held a hand up to the base of their throat, laying it flat against their skin. The song finished and everyone stood there. Hans then began to speak.

"Today is a very special day. Today, we welcome the first foreign dignitaries we have had in a long time." He turned and held a hand out to the foreigners. The whole room burst into applause. Once they died away, Hans continued. "I know that many of you doubt me. Be it for my age, my inexperience or the sins of my father, I understand. But I hope that this monumental event proves that if we work together with other nations, and that if you trust me to lead you, we can prosper and return to the glory that once was our Empire. I will not make this speech much longer, for I know you are all anxious to eat and enjoy yourselves. So, I leave you with these words from the poem 'Through The Maelstrom'." Hans cleared his throat, and in a big, booming voice, recited the words from memory, "And those who believed in the strength of the ship did prosper, and those who held tight to the lines were saved. But those who let go or lost faith; they fell to the stormy ocean beneath." Hans let the words sink in to everyone's minds for a few minutes. Then, with a total change to a happy tone, he spread his arms wide. "Now, let us feast."

Tray after tray of delicious smelling were brought into the room by hundreds of servants. The food ranged from pork to cheese and even vegetarian options. The drinks were plentiful and the room was filled with a storm of delicious scents. It was truly a sight to behold; the feasting and laughing and talking. Hans loved every minuted of it.

[Concordeia]

"That was a beautiful song, Your Majesty," George commented as he and Sam each picked out a modest meat dish with a side salad. "And we're both honored be invited to such a magnificent feast."

"You would be surprised how often we get less-than-friendly greetings when we visit other nations," Sam commented as he took a sip from his glass of red wine. "I'm telling you, this is a very welcome change of pace for us."

"I suppose now is the time to get down to business," George said, also taking a brief sip of wine. "I understand that Levichstein is currently in economic trouble, and that a large part of it was the result of the modernization program you started a few years ago. So I have two questions: what can you tell me about the modernization program your government undertook and what can our nation provide that would help get Levichstein out of it's current predicament?"

[Levichstein]

Hans took a large gulp of wine. "Yes, I suppose we should. Although I think anything formal can wait until tomorrow" He took a bite of the steak he was eating, then spoke again. "The modernization program you refer to is GRID. Growth, Renewal, Investment and Development. Of course, it did the exact opposite. I spent an amount of money equal to ten years of our government budget on building new infrastructure, business districts, green energies, all of the things a highly-advanced modern country should have. It was supposed to bring in tourists and investors, which I had figured would pay for the initial cost." He shook his head, "I was stupid to think it would work. But, I did it anyways. We built the airports, the roads, the fusion reactors. In the space of five years, Levichstein had gone from the backwards, isolated kingdom it was under my father to what you see now. A highly-advanced but impoverished and economically ruined nation."

Alina now piped in leaning towards the group. "It wasn't all Hans's fault. The economic troubles, I mean. These were starting way back, during our father's rule. He spent billions as well, but on building up the armed forces. When the civil war broke out, all sides were devastated, and those billions literally went up in smoke. Hans inherited an already nearly-bankrupt country."

Hans sadly nodded. "This ma be true, but GRID didn't help. It might as well have killed our nation for all the good it did." After thinking for a few moments, he continued speaking, a more positive tone in his voice. "As for what you can do, that is quite simple. Our nation has the capacity to be a major business center, a popular tourist destination. I mean, you saw the airport and all of the fancy business towers. We could host millions of visitors a year, and the only reason we don't is a lack people willing to come here. Levichstein has a fascinating history, and we've preserved many buildings that are hundreds if not a thousand years old, so nobody will be bored. If our two nations could become tourism partners, that would settle a large portion of our problem. Also, trade agreements would be helpful. Our people are master craftsmen and I'm sure the goods would be quite popular anywhere."

[Concordeia]

"As a matter of fact, Tourism is one of Concordeia's biggest industries, which also includes a great deal of marketing," George said, pausing for a moment to take a bite of his filet mignon. "I'm sure we have our government organize some advertising programs for tourism in Levichstein both in our country and abroad. And our government wouldn't mind entering a trade agreement, though hand-made works are somewhat rarer in our nation than they used to be. It's not that they're scarce or anything, but most of our goods, both large and small scale, are now produced through automated manufacturing techniques. Still, there is definitely a market for trade."

[Levichstein]

OOC: Cyrupe, will be responding to your message as soon as this little banguet is done. Or, may just pull Hans out for a bit to write the response. Either way, a post will be up in a bit

[Concordeia]

bump.

[Cyrupe]

OOC: Sorry for not responding earlier, real life and lack of time to actually do anything made me sorta ignore this thread. Either way, finish the banquet first, I have no problems with that.

[Concordeia]

Bump Levi.