NationStates Jolt Archive

Erebus International Airport was awash in sunlight, bringing a welcoming glow to the city. The normal décor had been improved, as national flags and banners waved in the slight breeze, ready to welcome Tartarus’ first official guests.

A band played the national anthem of Diablo NL, as the plane taxied to a stop. A group of personnel arranged for the steps to be placed, so the last step fell in front of a red carpet, leading towards the main terminal. Halfway up the carpet, the official welcoming party was waiting.

Standing stock still and regal in a navy blue trouser suit, Empress Gehenna awaiting the arrival of her guest. She stood under a parasol, keeping cool under the burning sun. Her blue eyes were fixed to the door of the plane, as the woman standing next to her ran over some last minute details.

As the door swung open and the people began to emerge, Gehenna moved out of the shade, and walked slightly down the carpet. Greeting the man in front of her, she smiled, her eyes fixed to his.

“Welcome to The Empire of Tartarus.” She presented her hand. “We are honoured by your presence, William i Eldandil Xylon of New Avalon, Emperor and King of the Empire of Diablo_NL.” She smiled; pleased to have remembered his title. “I am Empress Gehenna of Tartarus.”

William bowed down onto one knee, keeping his emerald green eyes connected with hers. When he rests on his knee he looks down onto the ground and gently grabs her hand between his thumb and index finger. He gently lifts the hand to his mouth and kisses it gently. "And I am honoured not only by your pressence Empress Gehenna of Tartarus, but being first official visitor to your nation milady." He gently pushes her hand back to where it was and stands up.
His height well over two meters overshadows the smaller empress. He looks down at her and smiles. "And who is this lady accompanying you?"

Gehenna keeps her eyes locked to his as he speaks, her smile carrying carrying much warmth. She turns to the woman standing next to her, she introduces him. "This is Lady Emma Sarie, Minister for Foreign Affairs." She returns to gaze to him. "She arranged your visit."

She leads him towards the limousines waiting for them. As she approaches the car, the driver opens the door. She turns to William. "You will travel with me, unless you would prefer other arrangements?"

William nods deeply. "I shall travel with you milady." He says, and motions for her to enter the limousine, holding out his hand gallently for her to support herself on.
Gehenna settles herself in the seat, and watches as William enters the car. Once the door had been closed and the driver had taken his place, Gehenna nods her signal, and the car moves away. She turns her attention to William, fixing her blue eyes to his face. "I'm honoured that you could visit us. Tartarus has been closed for too long, it is time to welcome the Internation Community through our door."
William smiled and looked into her eyes, he had no concern for how the interior was. "As I am honoured to be the first. I hope nothing but good shall come of this visit."
Gehenna sits back in her seat, feeling the soft leather move as she makes herself comfortable for the half hour ride to the Palace. She looks briefly out of the window, watching the airport slowly disappear behind them. She smiles at him. "We have been looking to improve relations for some time, unfortunately it has not happened as quickly as I would have liked." It had been hard for her to erase her father's hold on many of the many of the high ranking officials. "But I believe this is the first step towards my goal."
William nods politely to show his interest. "I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor."
Gehenna brushes a strand of hair out of her face, that had come free as she stood waiting at the airport. "I always find that if you really put your mind to something you can achieve anything. My next wish is to open Embassies here." She recalled her father's dislike of international relations. "If all goes well with this visit, I would be like for your country to be one of the first to open one."
"We would be delighted and honoured to do so milady." He said, as he glanced out the window.
Gehenna smiles, her fears slowly leaving her body. If this meeting went well, she knew it would be a good start to launching Tartarus onto the world. "I have an itinary for you. We plan to show you some of the country, introduce to some of my key personnel, then discussions on what we can do for each other." She looks at him and smiles. "If there is anything you particularly want to see or know, please do not hesitate to mention it."
William continues to smile and looks out the window from time to time, but mainly looks at Gehenna. "I will certainly do. And it sounds like a lovely day... So right down to bussiness. Where are we going first?"
Gehenna turns her gaze to the person in the front passanger seat, who turns as she mentions his name, and hands her a leather bound folder. "This is your itinary. We're returning to the Palace, then we shall begin from there. Starting with refreshments, as I'm sure you could do with some after your flight."
William nods. "Yes, thank you milady." He says.

Driving through the city, William was shown his first views of Erebus, a mix of the old and new, the capital moving away from the old ways, even as the Emperor had battled to keep them back. The buildings had grown tall, not to the point of stealing the view, but they displeased the old man, who wanted everything to remain the same.

Gehenna looked out of the window, her smile growing as she watched the people milling around, her people. She watched as they changed as they continued throw, from the busy commercial district, into the more subdued older part of town, before turning up a hill, leading the the impressive Ewige Verdammnis Palace, nestled at the top, keeping watch over Erebus.

Driving through the huge iron gates, swung open, as the guards saluted. The seal of Tartarus born by them, gold upon the black metal, indicating the wealth of the place. The huge drive took them through a tree line avenue, leading up to the main entrance.

The car pulled to a stop, as another man stepped forward, the door opened without a word. Security evident, as a bussle of people moved around the cars, blocking the view down the drive. Guided towards the doors, Gehenna moved aside allowing William to enter.

The were greeted by a huge hall, with a huge staircase sweeping up and round in front of them. An elegant chandelier hung above their heads, casting a glow over all below it.

Gehenna turned to William, a smile gracing her lips. "Welcome to the heart of Erebus." She signalled to a waiting servant, who lead them to a huge sitting room, ornate. The walls drapped in paintings, the furniture antique, fitting in with the age of the building itself. "I thought we'd take refreshments before we start."

William was impressed with the old city. Not many nations kept their old buildings. His own capitall forced old style looking architecture, as a substitute.

As he walked in the palace a smile appeared on his lips. Such beautifull antiquetees.
He looked at Gehenna and nodded. "I would much enjoy that milady." He said.

Indicating a seat for William to take, Gehenna waited for him to sit before taking her own chair, meeting his gaze with a smile, as she lowered herself down. She perched herself on her edge, her back not touching the seat.

She heard the refreshments being brought in, the woman curtsying as she waited for the preferred drink of the two seated. She poured their choices, handing them the cups, before laying the rest of the tea things on a table in front of the Empress. She asked if they wanted anything else, before she curtsied and left the room silently.

Gehenna took a sip of her tea, offering William his pick of the food laid out before them. "So, what are your first impressions of the Empire?" She looked at his face, reading anything that he may be thinking but not saying aloud.

William looked at the servant and smiled while he nodded. "Thank you." He said as he took his cup of tea and took a sip.
He looked back up at the empress and smiled. "I have to say a most impressive Empire you have milady. I especially like the antiques. We don't have to many of them in our own nation you see." He said and took another sip of his tea. "Is there a native food I could try? You see I have this habbit of eating something native where ever I go." He said with a smile and a little laugh.

Taking a sip of her tea, Gehenna looked at William, her deep blue eyes holding his in her gaze. She lowered the cup onto the saucer in her hand, and nodded her head, smiling at his kind words.

"I have laid on a special meal for this evening, where you will be served a variety of traditional Tartarian dishes." Her voice held a warmth as she spoke about the Empire, regardless of the changes she was hoping to make, she still held the nations history close to her heart.

"Perhaps if you are interested, I could give a tour of the palace, show you a small selection of our history." Her eyes sparkled, as this opportunity rose to show the nation's glory to another. She waited on his answer, as she ran her finger over the rim of her cup.

William finished his cup of tea and smiled warmly while looking at Gehenna. "I would love to milady." He said and waited for her to get up before getting up himself. He slowly walked over to her side. "Please give my compliments to who ever made that tea. It was something special." He said, still with that smile on his face.

Leaning forward, Gehenna placed her empty cup on the table, her gaze briefly leaving William's face. She smiled at his compliment of the tea, the kitchen staff would be bowled over to know that their preparation was so appreciated.

"Shall we start by discussing what are two nations can do for each other?" She moved towards the door, her hand resting on the doorknob, as she waited for him to draw close. "If we get the business out of the way first, we can then enjoy the more pleasant aspects of your visit."

William nodded politely before saying. "An excellent idea milady."
"Well of course there is the possibillity of opening up trade between our nations. This could be in materials like food and raw materials, or something like research data. I am sure a few company's would like to set up an office her in Gehenna Tartarus. And perhaps we can even sign a treaty of friendship with each other." He said smiling at Gehenna.

Gehenna nodded her head, as she lead William down a long corridor, the decor matching the rest of the Palace that he had so far seen. Portraits of old Emperors and Empresses stared down from their places on the wall, watching as the two walked past.

"I have arranged a meeting for such things to be discussed. Once we had set the ball rolling we shall let our ministers organise the smaller details, allowing me to introduce you to the city." She looked over at him, her eye taking in his detail.

"It's been arranged to take place in one hours time. I thought you might like to freshen up before we start." She guided them through the door at the end of the corridor, which opened up into another hallway, an elevator waited it's doors open, revealing an oppulent interior.

As they neared, a man stepped forward in full Tartarian livery. His face full of pride as he ushered William through the door. Gehenna bowed her head slightly as she watched him. "Mr Harken will show you to your room, and I will be waiting for you when you are ready."

William bowed down towards Gehenna and again, as before gently grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Then I take my leave of you untill then milady." He said and got into the elevator smiling.

Gehenna walked further along the corridor and into an office to the right. Sitting down at the desk, she began to read some of the papers on her desk waiting for her attention. She leans back in her chair, her eyes scanning down the page, as she runs her hand through her hair.

She looks up from the page, at the knock at the door. She smiles at the woman who entered, as she makes her way over the the desk. "Is everything arranged?"

Emma nodded slowly, as she looked at the iternary in her hand, marking off each of the aspects as she clarified the details to Gehenna, who nodded and asked questions.

By the time the conversation had finished, Gehenna felf confident that the visit was going to be a success. She straightened the papers on her desk, as the final points were confirmed, then poured herself a glass of water waiting for William's return.

When William arrived in his room he was amazed by it's beauty, nothing so old is available back in Diablo_NL.
He quickly takes a shower to freshen up a little and dries himself off. This was prooving to be a very pleasant visit.
He let Mr Harken know he was ready. And followed him whereever he went.

Harken waited, he's been given the position of guiding William around the palace, to be at his beck and call, to answer any question he may have. There was a call button in the room, should he be needed at any part of the day.

He'd positioned himself on a seat, tucked just off the main corridor several yards from the door. He knew that it would not be long until William was ready to return, so had decided to remain near.

As he heard his bleeper go off, he returned to the door, knocked and waited for William to emerge. Leading him back to the elevator, they made their way along the corridor, entering the next door down from Gehenna's office. Harken made William comfortable, and knocked on the adjoining door, where second later, Gehenna appeared, smiling.

She walked over to William, her eyes running over him, as she drew near. "I hope you are feeling more refreshed and ready for our meeting." She indicated the door for them to proceed to the first item on his itinary.

Leading the way, she walked further down the corridor, to a set of double doors. They were opened by two liveried servant as they approached, revealing a large oval table, already surrounded by a host of official looking dignitaries.

Gehenna walked over to her seat, an empty chair beside hers. "Ladies and gentlemen, if we are all ready, shall we start?"

William smiled. "Yes I am, thank you." He followed her through the corridor's and sat down in the seat next to her and looked at all the people at the table. He looked over to Gehenna and nodded, stating that he was ready.

Gehenna began the meeting by introducing the key players around the table, giving William some idea of who he was dealing with, then allowed him to complete the process by by introducing his own staff.

The discussions rolled on for an hour, with a lot of toing and froing each side detailing what they could offer in terms of mutual agreements. When the conversation moved on to trade, Gehenna turned to William, a smile on her face, as the others around the table continued to talk.

"If you are willing, we will leave the others to discuss the finer details of our trade agreements." She looked him in the eye, waiting for his answer. "And I will introduce you to the finer points of Tartarus."

William looked met her eyes and smiled. "I would be most delighted milady." He said and stood up and offered his hand to help Gehenna up.

Gehenna accepted William's hand, and rose gracefully from her seat, her eyes fixed to his as she smiled. Turning to the others around the table, she announced their intention to leave, then made her way over to the door, feeling her quests presence beside her.

It swung open at her approach, revealing the by now familiar corridor before them. Leaving the room, she turned leading them away from the entrance that had first greeted William's arrival.

"As we are slightly ahead of schedule, perhaps I could show you some of the antiques we have here at the palace, detailing the long rule of my family." She looked at his profile as they walked, looking for signs of interest, before she continued.

"The heritage of Tartartus is very important to us. The shaping of the nation by my predecessors, along with all their failures and glories, are depicted in many works of arts, of all kinds." She indicated a picture on one of the walls. "Be it painting, sculpture, tale or song."

She laughed lightly. "A performance of some of our more arousing musical pieces has been arranged to take place during your visit. I am told that some of our most epic endeavours are the subject of over half of them."

“I would love to see some of your antiques.” William exclaimed, showing great interest as he walked beside Gehenna. “It sounds like you have a long , wonderful and well preserved history here in Tartarus”

"Tartarus certainly has managed to preserved its history." She walked slowly past paintings each one containing the portrait of a previous Emperor or Empress, their eyes seeming to follow those passing by.

She stopped infront of a picture of a man, his hair graying at the edges, barely hiding his natural darkness. His features speaking of his obvious connection to the woman looking up at him, the resemblance plain to see.

"A lot is owed to Emperor Erebus." She glanced at William, her eyes briefly flashed venomously at mention of his name, before being replaced by a pleasant twinkle. "He loved the history of the place, he kept it alive."

She smiled, as she moved away from the painting, guiding them further along.

He nods politely whenever she explains something to him, he is quite startled by her change of expression when she mentions Erebus' name. "Milady? Is there a piece in your wide collection you vallue the most?" He asks her.

Gehenna thought for a moment, then looked at William and smiled. Her eyes practically shining as she saw the object in her mind's eye.

"There is something that I particularly like. It has quite a history behind it." She indicated a door. "It's in here."

She turned them into a room off to the left, the double doors already open. Inside was another sitting room, this one had several glass cabinets against the walls.

Walking over to one, she open the doors, and carefully brought out a gem encrusted dagger, which she holds out to William, to see, spinning it over in her hands before offering it to him.

"This dagger has ended the reigns of a few Emperor's in it's lifetime." She looked up into his eyes, as he examines it. "The story goes that the blade has never been sharpened, yet remains as sharp as the day it was made."

"Very interesting." William said and looked at the dagger. He slowly unsheathed it and looked carefully at the blade. Slowly he grips the blade in his left and and quickly pulls it along the his own flesh. He looked at his hand as it bleed a bit and grapped tissue to put on the wound for a while.
He cleans the blade before sheething it again.
William hands it back to Gehenna and takes a handkerchief from out his suit and holds it to the wound. "It is an excellent blade, very sharp indead. Don't worry I'll be fine. I needed to mourn anyway."

Gehenna looked at her guest, slightly puzzled as he spoke. "You are in mourning? I'm sorry I did not know this." She frown, annoyed that her staff had failed to discover this piece of information. Not wishing to dwell on this unexpected sad news, she returns her attention to the artifact.

Taking the dagger from William, she closed her fingers around the hilt, before returning it to the cabinet. "Some say that it glows crimson when someone has evil intents towards the reigning monarch, but that is merely legend."

"Ah yes I still mourn the death of Joanna, and I do so with pride." He says and looks at her as she continues to speak.
"Well it seems that I have no intention to bring harm to you then." He says with a little laugh. "Please continue the tour, I'm most enjoying it."

Gehenna relaxed visably, as William explains about Joanna, for a moment she had been convinced that he was talking of a loved one or family member. She nodded her head in sympathy as she recalled hearing the news of the Empress' tragic demise, although she herself had never had the honour of meeting her.

"The death of friends can be very hard." Her thoughts briefly turned to her own losses, before she brought herself back to the now. "But a long as we have memories, they are never truly gone."

She smiled at William, as she led him back to the door and into the corridor. "I shall rest easier, knowing that you have no ill will towards me."

She continued to lead them towards two large doors that could be seen at the end of the passage.