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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Aug 30, 2022 21:36:31 GMT
To: His Excellency,Premier Conseiller Cedrik Marceau
From: Caius Beatrix, Regent Councilor of the Imperium Divinium
Your Excellency,
Salve. I pray this letter finds you in good health. Forgive any impertinence in my writing this to you, but word has taken flight and reached my council chambers that the Princess Justine of Acielon was intrigued by the reconstruction of Latium in Divinium. As it happens, the Emperor elect intends to visit the city himself in short order, for the consecration of the Porta Troia. We would be more than happy to host the princess and have her as an honored guest at this event, as a representative of your esteemed nation and in light of our shared history.
It would be fitting to foster equitable and friendly relations between our peoples who, though separated in the annals of history, no doubt share a mutual desire for peace and prosperity throughout Placidia. Further, I’d imagine it will do both youths good to find a partner in which they may share academic interest. We have taken great care in the reconstruction of the city, and I am sure there are a great many sights both the Emperor and Princess would find stimulating. I can personally assure you that His Ephemeral Majesty would be honored to escort the princess personally, if it be pleasing to her. Do let me know in the affirmative, so appropriate arrangements may be made in advance.
Sincerely,
Councilor Caius Beatrix
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Post by Raeliana(Acielon/Isameine) on Aug 30, 2022 22:29:21 GMT
To: His Excellency, Caius Beatrix, Regent Councilor of the Imperium Divinium
From: Cedrik Marceau, Premier Conseiller de Acielon
Your excellency,
Salut. Words are indeed flighty, but fear not for we are warmed by the benevolent invitation you extend. Le Gouvernement Royal too sees the benefits of fostering amiable relations between our two nations, for geographic circumstances alone dictate that we will confront each other. So let that be in the way of mutual respect. We affirm our gratitude and take your offer honored by the offer of the Emperor elect escorting our princess. We do request, though that the princess be allowed to be accompanied by her personal guard as well as some entourage. This shan't inconvenience you we believe.
In respect,
Conseiller Cedrik Marceau
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Aug 31, 2022 1:24:40 GMT
Your Excellency,
I am most pleased by the warm reception to our offer. The Princess is, of course, afforded the right to an entourage or retinue, as any person entering Divinium of decent standing would. Further, as a representative of your nation, she is more than entitled to bring guards for her own purpose if she wish. It would be remiss not to ensure you are made aware however that Latium, like most Divinian cities, still abides by the Twelve Tables. As such, no armed man may cross the pomerium of the city. This includes all citizens up to and including the emperor himself. The Praetorian Guard will be concealing or removing all lethal weapons upon entry into the city. If that is not negotiable for the princess and her guard, we take no offense, but must stand firmly on this stance. In such an event, there are other places in Divinium, such as St. Helena, where weapons may be openly carried by her guard, but it would indeed be a shame to miss out on such a historic locale.
Sincerely,
Councilor Beatrix
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Post by Raeliana(Acielon/Isameine) on Sept 1, 2022 17:46:14 GMT
The trees and fields kept flying as the train kept following it's unchanging path. But the occupants of one train car were concerned with more pressing matters than the Fauna.
"And we will really meet the Emperor? I'm not sure we have anything that could match an emperor?" a brunette girl said doubtfully. Another blonde girl snorted and countered: "Oh please it's more likely that the Emperor will look poor compared to Justine." A third girl raised her arm calmly, ending the discussion. She gave a warm smile and exclaimed: "Thank you Leanne, but enough talk about who will look the best. Because even if there were a pretty peasant girl, she would still be beneath me. Let us rather talk about the Imperium, our destination. Anthiese, hasn't your fiance been there?," she adressed the brunette girl. "Yes he has been there, quite a stunning story actually..."
The train came with a slow grinding sounds to a halt at it's destination. Once it halted around half a minute later, a blonde girl in a coral dress exited the train, followed by a few guards, and two girls a few years her seniors. The last to leave the train was an older governess with already graying brown hair.
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Sept 1, 2022 21:15:23 GMT
The Divinian Contingent had arrived well before the train pulled into the station as expected, and were gathered around the new gate to the city. A century of the Praetorian Guard was assembled in columns outside, geared up in their ceremonial uniforms. Their unorthodox combination of white, high collared tunic coats edged in purple contrasted against the bronze masked helmets and segmented armor. Each man carried a shield emblazoned with a sunburst on a white field, as well as an assortment of staves, swords, and handguns. An attempt to combine aesthetics of the old and new. They made no move when the entourage from Acielon stepped off the train, aside from the trumpeters, who let out a sharp, seven note tune.
At the call, a small group off to the side turned toward the approaching Acelonians. An older man in a much more practical khaki uniform and a black sash stepped forward. He bowed stiffly, though his smile seemed genuine. “Welcome to Divinium. It is an honor to meet you. I am Aodhan Estrana, Archduke of St. Helena. And may I introduce you to my nephew, His Ephemeral Majesty, the emperor elect. Florin?”
The child shuffled forward awkwardly, opening and closing his hand in an attempted greeting. He was short for his age, and decidedly average looking by Divinian standards. Wind caught the petal sleeves of his yellow tunic, as he rocked on the balls of his feet for a moment. After a beat, he smiled gently. “Uh, hello. It’s nice to meet you. And uh, thanks. For coming I mean.”
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Post by Raeliana(Acielon/Isameine) on Sept 2, 2022 7:58:01 GMT
The blonde girl returned the smile and bowed her head slightly in gratitude. "Thank you, I'm Justine and nice to meet you too, empereur. And thank you too, archiduc. Also I'm the princesse héritière of Acielon. These two," she waved towards the two other girls "are my friends and we're all rather excited for the city, after spending so much time sitting in the train. So would you show us around, Florin?," she asked with an excited gleam in her eyes, at the prospect of moving around after that stiff train ride. Florin, didn't seem like a dashing prince in her eyes, though she was suprised he could speak Acielonian. Perhaps he won't be as boring as she feared and if he is she'll just have to wash herself a bit more today as to not get infected by his state of being boring. Yes that should work.
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Sept 2, 2022 11:05:48 GMT
“Mmm” was the only reply he could muster, as he held an arm out to escort the princess toward the pomerium. The porta was constructed of sturdy beige granite, flecked with salt and pepper inclusions. Reliefs had been carved and painted carefully, depicting the voyage of the legendary Aeneas across the seas. A priest was speaking to a crowd gathered inside the city, consecrating the gate and the bodies of the men that had been recovered in her construction.
“-May their sacrifice serve to protect this city in death as they did in life.”, he concluded, as the Emperor broke from the party. With surprising strength, he hoisted up a solid stone date marker and shoved it in place at the bottom left of the wall, finishing off the simple ceremony. People soon scurried out of the way. “Factum est” he spoke, and the praetorians began their march into the city, tossing down their swords as they did so.
He turned back to Justine as he dusted off his hands. “Um, was there something specific you wanted to see? There’s…the coliseum. The palace district. Under the pomerium there’s a museum collection of artifacts?“ The boy was trying desperately to be polite, but it was so odd interacting with other children. What do other kids DO when they spend time together. If Wilhelm was there, he’d know what to do.
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Post by Raeliana(Acielon/Isameine) on Sept 3, 2022 12:57:16 GMT
How did he lift that stone? When he went there he had expected him to only embarrass those around him. Yet he actually managed it... perhaps he isn't that boring after all. Actually he could become interesting. "Oh, the coliseum sounds intersting and fun, say do people still fight there? You know, with blood and all that? And afterwards we could go to palace, please?" She knew that there would probably be no fights, but she wanted to see how Florin reacted. Yes, he could be a knight in shining armour! "Also tell me, do you ride? And fence?"
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Sept 3, 2022 13:47:40 GMT
Florin scrunched his nose, trying to figure out in what order to answer the rapid fire questions. He chose to look toward the buildings of the city, making a mental note to ask about the accuracy of the metalwork on a particular fountain they walked past.
“What else would they do in the coliseum? I think the bouts today are… Vernalport versus Astranum? Yeah. The priestesses came up for that. And the palaces are nice. I was born in the palace here. And…hmm… I know how to ride. But I don’t very often. Uncle likes it when I stay in the Atria, and there isn’t much room to practice there. And I prefer making swords more than I like using them. People do too much fighting. I think it’s nice when everyone is at peace.”
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Post by Raeliana(Acielon/Isameine) on Sept 4, 2022 15:50:50 GMT
"I do agree on peace being better than fighting. If we were at war, I wouldn't be able to be in Latium today. Though would you like to fence?" She was actually suprised, that a boy didn't think war and fighting were amazing. Yes, she did fence and practice riding, but only for amusement. Still she did want to see how someone fought who didn't like fighting. She stopped in her thoughts when she remembered another thing Florin mentioned. "You stay in the Atria all the time? But, do you ever visit friends? Festivals? Or take a stroll through the gardens? How do you pass time?" She was incredulous, how could someone enjoy themselves if they were so confined? Now she had a new mission, called 'get-Florin-to-have-fun' "No, this won't do! You should visit us in Acielon and then we can ride on horses over the fields and orchards. I will ask Councellor Cedrik as soon as I'm back home to tell your uncle that you should be allowed to visit us!"
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Sept 4, 2022 18:26:15 GMT
“I would not.” The answer came to his lips before he had given the question any consideration. Aware that it could be viewed as a snub, he tried to press on. “I don’t think my councilors would approve of my practicing swordplay with a visiting princess. They’d approve a lot less when I lost to you. I don’t like fencing. But then, it’s easy not to like weapons when your whole family was murdered. If you’d like, you can call my refusal a victory. Though I don’t think many people would find your beating me too impressive.” He kicked at a stone and sent it skittering down the road. People along the way smiled and waved, but he tried not to look at their faces. One strange person was already enough to set him on edge. A city full of them was frightening.
“There are gardens in the atria, you know. The Argent Palace has lots of them. Each one is different so it’s sort of like going out. But mostly I just… study. They say I need to know a lot of stuff before I get crowned. But I like music. And Issa. She’s my puppy. Mmm… sometimes Wilhelm visits? He’s my friend! But he’s a Thole so he’s not around much. No one is around much. Cathal, that’s Councilor Retorus, says it’s been like that since mom died. So I don’t think they’d really let me come visit you. Thanks though.”
He gestured with his hand across the avenue, where the coliseum sat. The crowd was audible from that distance. God, he hated the coliseum. “We have the best seats… I guess.”
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