Sona-Genoise State Visit (Invite-Only)

[Royal Genes]

The motorcade of limousines, security vehicles and motorcycles followed the curve of the road as it followed the shoreline of Lake Hu Qiji as it made it way to Sona Siao, the capital city of Sonaland. It was the first visit of Queen Louise of Genes to her nation’s neighbor and its ruler, King Jianryan of Sonaland.

There was an uneasy history between Genes and Sonaland, with Sonalanders having been… challenged socially during the time of the Genoise Empire and they had gone through a great exodus during the reign of Louise’s father. The Queen had thus sought to smooth over relations between their nations as to improve relations.

The Queen and King had reached out to each other and the latter had formally invited the former, who had naturally accepted. With her she brought with her daughter and heir, and her grandchildren, along with her brother and his two children. Thus it was with hope to encourage friendship between the two royal families.

It was the second state visit of the Queen, but was nonetheless considered of the utmost importance for Sona-Genoise diplomatic relations.

[Sonaland]

Sona Siao was a small city, with only several thousand people living in the hollow of the valley that cut through the high mountains of the kingdom before falling away to the thick greenery of the lakeshore. It was a young city, having been the settlement established by the first Queen of Sonaland, Anryanah Hawajie thirty eight years earlier. Since then it had grown, but what it lack in great size, it much up for in character.

Jianryan I, son of Queen Anryanah and father of the present King Jianryan II, had directed the shape of Sonaland’s culture by emphasizing the aesthetic of it in how Sonalanders dressed and in the homes they lived in, with pagoda robes. Elaborate braces, pillars and jian arches and grated windows. The buildings of Sona Siao were painted in shades of white, light gray with distinctive periwinkle-blue roofs, standing mostly at one to two stories tall.

The exception was the Chensha Palace, home of the royal family, built on an isolated promontory hilltop. The palace was built from vibrant vermillion stone and shined like a red sun nestled between the blue of the lake and the green of the valley and the gray and white of the mountains. It was to the Chensha Palace that the motorcade of the Genoise Queen were directed, though it would be awkward. Sonaland, a mountainous nation had few roads and the use of cars was rare outside of military capacity. And there was no road up to the Chensha Palace.

The motorcade was directed to the base of the hill, where King Jianryan II waited for them.

[Royal Genes]

The royal motorcade came to a stop at the base of the hill. Footmen in the iconic Genoise green livery stepped out and opened the door for the royals. Prince Antoine, the Duke of Anjou, husband of the Queen was the first to step out, as he helped out his wife. Queen Louise, a sharp woman in her early seventies with a gilded mahogany cane smiled at her husband but it quickly left her face as she looked up and saw the great height of the Sonalandic palace.

“If His Majesty thinks I am going to climb all of that, he is surely mistaken.”

Queen Louise raised an eyebrow as the rest of the royals stepped out of their vehicles. She directed her gaze to the waiting King of Sonaland.

[Sonaland]

King Jianryan smiled as he heard Queen Louise. A little over fifteen years younger than the Genoise monarch, Jianryan was fluent in Sona as well as Genoise. He stood in a vibrant vermillion yuanlingshan with a yesona square of an embroidered golden dragon on his chest. As King and member of the Hawajie dynasty he was amongst the only few people who could wear the stunning color. Jianryan had typical Sona features, with brown eyes, though his skin was a shade darker than most of his subjects. He wore a black koita with a golden dragon snaking around its brim.

“Queen Louise, it is a pleasure to welcome you to Sonaland. You may find that our land is far rougher and more rugged than the luxuries in the lowlands of your nation, but I can assure you that we have fitting accommodations for the visit of such an prestigious and esteemed monarch.”

King Jianryan clapped his hands together softly and two teams of burly men appeared from around a corner, each team carrying a palanquin. One was vermillion and had a seal of the Hawajie dragon while the other was emerald and had a seal of the Valois peacock.

[Royal Genes]

Queen Louise’s smile returned as she saw the arrival of the palanquins. Unexpected, but she found the detail in the Sonalander’s eye admirable. The Queen had leaned into the green of the Genoise colors. Emerald had been the color of the Valois Dynasty in Genes for over two centuries and the peacock had been adopted as a symbol for the royals in the previous century.

Queen Louise wore a full length green dress with an high waistline with a cape dragging behind her, a heavy statement necklace of gold and emerald around her neck and a matching tiara on her head of black and graying hair. Prince Antoine wore a morning suit with an emerald sash over his chest. He was a tall man with graying hair, and wore a pair of black designer glasses

“Now that is more like it,” said Queen Louise with a smile. She added jokingly. “Shall we race?”

[Sonaland]

King Jianryan allowed a small laugh at the Queen of Genes’s suggestion. He gestured for her to take a seat in her palanquin as he did the same, the bearers lowering the two vehicles so that the monarchs could more easily get into their respective one.

“I assure you, it is a view that you shall wish to see and take your time with.”

[Royal Genes]

“Very well,” said Queen Louise, pleased to find that the King of Sonalsbd seemed to be of a relatively good humor. The Queen and her sharp tongue were well known amongst her family, but most seemed surprised when she joked around, not expecting such a fun loving personality from an old woman. As if the elderly aren’t still alive. “I shall feast with my eyes.”