NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC:
This thread will be a character RP between Emperor Phaeton Draconis and his wife, Empress Aiwyn ni Gwydion. It is extremely closed, being between Akaton and the Resurgent Dream. If anyone else posts here, the post will probably be ignored. The setting of this thread will be the Imperial Palace, hovering several kilometers above the capital.

Aiwyn's eyes slowly drift open. Rises, she tosses her head, freeing her wild red hair. The sidhe lady turns slightly, smiling at her husband. "Good morning, love."

After giving Draconis a quick kiss, she glides to the shower, her light green nightgown shifting gracefully in the draft from the other room. The Emperess hums to herself in the shower, taking her time.

Draconis smiles at the kiss, the only sign that he was awake. For once, he had no cause to hurry, no wars to plan, no councils to consult. He thought how mornings were so much more pleasant since his marriage to Aiwyn.

Draconis slowly got to his feet, a pointed ear perking up at the sound of water and Aiwyn's humming. He called to her jokingly,

"Beat me to the shower again, eh love?"

He trailed off, walking to a closet and retrieving a robe. He spoke more to himself than to Aiwyn,

"Over two hundred rooms and none with two showers. Oh well, it's not like a little walk will kill me, now is it?"

Aiwyn just laughs a little. "You know, you could order one built. Seriously, though, you know ladies take longer to get ready."

After a good 45 minutes, Aiwyn steps out in her towel. She moves into her closet, deciding between all of her outfits. After awhile, she chooses a rather complicated green gown with golden lining and begins to slip it on. After that, she goes to her vanity dresser, doing her hair and make-up.

Draconis laughs as he walks towards the door.

"I know I could order another shower, but new plumbing is rather difficult when one's palace floats in the air."

Stepping out into the hall, he heads across to another room slightly smaller in size. He enjoys the relaxing warmth of the shower, the cool early morning air having entered the side room through an open balcony. Half an hour later, after drying himself, Draconis stands before the closet. He finally decides upon a loose fitting, casual black suit with silver trim. Walking to a mirror, he combs back his hair in its usual style. Interestingly enough, the hair remains in the desired position without the aid of hair gel.

Satisfied with his appearance, Draconis makes his way back across the hall to wait for Aiwyn.

Aiwyn finally finishes up, standing and turning for her husband. "What do you think?" She smiles, straightening her skirts unnecessarily.

Aiwyn moves towards the hall. "The election results should be in tonight. We don't actually have to say anything. Parliament mostly handles its own business and, when it doesn't, it's Agwene's problem. Still, I want to know who won. It's...turning out weird this year."

Draconis turns to see Aiwyn, flashing a mischievous grin.

"All the poets on all the worlds who spoke of beauty, not in all the ages could ever have imagined one so lovely as you, my love. But then I suppose you wanted what I think, didn't you? In that case, I think you look absolutely perfect."

Offering her his hand, Draconis walked towards the hall at Aiwyn's side.

"Weird, in what way? Elections are a rather foreign idea to Akaton, and to me as well. I admit, though, it will be interesting to see how they turn out, even if I don't entirely understand how the election works."

Aiwyn takes his hand, laughing lightly as she glides along. "I already married you, dear. You don't have to flatter me anymore."

She shrugs her shoulders a little at the question. "The Modernists are getting far more seats than they ever have before. We needn't worry. We can override anything they do. Still..."

Draconis laughs along with Aiwyn.

"A little flattery never hurts, does it? Besides, you really do look beautiful today."

As they walk into the hall, his voice takes on a slightly more serious tone.

"It is hard to imagine a Modernist party gaining power in your Empire. At least we can be sure that, unless there is a mass assassination, Akaton won't be having any political upheaval. A council of nobles has certain benefits, a lifetime position being one of them."

As Draconis and Aiwyn walked hand in hand down the great hall, light streamed in through stained glass windows high above. Amongst the gothic arches and vaulted ceilings, warm morning light mixes with the cold stone of the Imperial Palace's walls.

Draconis slowly became aware of his own hunger, turning to Aiwyn.

"Would you care for a bit of breakfast?"

Aiwyn smiles lightly. "Thank you, love."

She pauses. "Our definition of Modernist is different. Still, it is a surprise."

She nods. "I would love breakfast right now."

Glad to hear Aiwyn was in the mood to eat, Draconis paused in front of the entrance to the dining hall.

"Good, breakfast it is then. Shall we eat here, or would you prefer one of the balconies."

Aiwyn pauses a moment. "One of the balcony. I do love the view."

"The Atlantean election results should be in today, as well. And the Pantocratorian should be in soon."

Draconis pushes open one of the doors to the dining hall, calling across the room to a servant setting the table.

"Sorry to bother you, breakfast will be on the balcony 29-B this morning."

The servant answers,

"As you wish, my lord."

Turning back to Aiwyn, Draconis walks along the hall towards an exterior door.

"It looks like a nice clear day, the view from here should be excellent."

Sure enough, the view was magnificent. Below, the sun reflected off of gleaming towers, making wavy patterns across their polished steel surface. In the distance, the hazy outline of a sky ship floated lazily across the northern ash wastes.

"This view always seems so much more pleasant than the industrial district, doesn't it?"

Aiwyn follows Draconis, peering out over the balcony and resting her hand on the rail. Oddly enough, she answers him with a question. "Does the palace move or can it only float in one place?"

Draconis joins Aiwyn at the railing of the balcony, sighing slightly at the question.

"Well, I imagine this palace could move if it ever needed to. However, it's not as simple as it might sound. You see, the Imperial Palace is over ten thousand years old. It was constructed by a civilization long since gone from this earth. Though it has been constantly inhabited, few truly understand how to directly control the engines."

He is distracted a moment as servants bring a table and two chairs out onto the balcony behind him. Turning back to Aiwyn, he smiles slightly.

"So, the answer to your question is yes. However, we would need to summon the techno-magi and send an expedition into the ancient under-levels of the Imperial Archive to search for records on the subject. I estimate it would take at least a week before the palace could be made to move."

Aiwyn shrugs. "Not worth the trouble, then." She moves to her chair and sits, crossing her legs. "So do you have anything planned for today, love, or can we just spend it together?" She gives her husband a warm smile.

A servant stepped from the palace onto the balcony, carrying with him a document. Walking up to Draconis, he waits respectfully to be acknowledged. Draconis turns to him, still talking to Aiwyn.

"Well, love, I had been hoping this would be a quiet day, but it seems the responsibilities of state have caught up with us again."

The servant hands the paper to Draconis, speaking quickly.

"My lord, this is a matter that requires your immediate attention."

Taking the message, Draconis reads it quickly, dismissing the servant.

"Aiwyn, I do believe he was correct. It says here that the techno-magi have declared a group of environmentalist heretics against the machine god. They want my approval to burn them at the stake. Rather disturbing, isn't it?"

Aiwyn shrugs a little. "It is disturbing. But can we not just deny them permission and be done with it?"

She looks back over the balcony. "If Mists is to be one empire, we can't burn people for one belief in half of it and for the opposite belief in the other. No one could take a boat ride without risking execution."

Draconis took a long look at the city before responding, momentarily sinking into a grim mood.

"Of course we'll deny them permission, no one has been burned here for heresy in centuries. It is a simple matter really, just a bit worrying. You see, intolerance is an issue Akaton has faced before, one I thought had been dealt with long ago. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

As another servant appears to collect breakfast orders, Draconis turns away from the railing, smiling again. The servant bows, looking to the couple.

"Your Imperial Majesties, what do the two of you wish to have prepared?"

Draconis pauses a second,

"I'm not sure, something light. Surprise me."

The servant nods, turning to Aiwyn.

"And you, M'lady?"

"Surprise me as well. I need to see the election results as well." She smiles lightly at the servant, putting her hand on her husband's arm. "It'll be alright, love. We'll deal with it."

The servant records the breakfast orders (or lack there of) and slips the notepad into his pocket.

"Your food will be ready shortly. I will inquire as to the election results as well, majesty"

He bows, turning and walking back inside. Draconis smiles, turning back to his conversation with Aiwyn, evidently not concerned with the matter of the heretics.

"We have nothing to worry about from those radicals. Akaton has been through things far worse than that over the years. I'm more interested in these elections. What sort of power does the parliament of your Empire have anyway?"

Aiwyn laughs. "Power? Well, technically their only authority is over taxation proper. That is, direct monetary taxes to the Imperial Court itself. But that sum is negligible. While the average citizen pays 19% in 'taxes', the vast majority of that sum takes the form of local feudal dues. Beyond that, Parliaments only power is advisory. Traditionally, however, their advice is followed by monarchs wishing to maintain a loyal populace. It is up to us whether we wish to preside over them ourselves, or leave them to Agwene. However, if we do it personally, your people might want them to become a true Parliament of Mists. If we leave it to little sister, Parliamentary politics stays clearly over the sea."

Draconis raises an eyebrow slightly,

"Well, I don't see a reason to deprive Agwene of her parliament. Besides, the Akatani nobility might not take kindly to a foreign parliament, elected or otherwise. Still, there is a certain appeal to a unified Mists. Perhaps some sort of joint parliament, a new group altogether?"

Aiwyn looks off thoughtfully. "That might work. To merge such things, you'd likely have to give out a great many new titles, however. I believe a larger number of our citizens belongs to the nobility by a good margin."

Draconis shrugs slightly.

"True, but I never found anyone who didn't like to receive a title. There's never a shortage of war heroes, magi, or distant relatives of nobles who are in need of a title."

Aiwyn nods. "Very well. Then we shall attempt this joint parliament. How many titled nobles do you currently have?"

Draconis sighs slightly,

"Well, that depends on just how noble you want them. I mean, there are countless hundreds who have some distant claim to some obscure titles. As for real nobility, they number exactly one hundred and twelve. However, no one's seen poor Lord-Magus Balthazar since he was sucked into the spirit world a few months back. So, we have more like a hundred and eleven nobles in Akaton."

Aiwyn winces a little. "This might be more complicated than we thought. Countless hundreds is still a small number compared to the Empire. We can issue an edict saying only noble title of baron or higher is valid for the Parliament of Mists. That lowers the number to..." she pauses, doing math in her head "...just a thousand or so. We'll also need to deal with the fact that there's no one besides ourselves in Akaton who bears a monarchial title."

Draconis considers the matter a moment,

"Well, as far as monarchial titles go, the closest thing to that in Akaton would be the Imperial High Lords (and in certain instances Imperial High Ladies). Given the fact that almost all of Akaton's population live in the four great cities, the Lords who command said cities are much like Kings and Queens in your land. As for the idea of limiting eligibility to high-ranking nobles, I like it. We can't have every insignificant noble with a title squabbling over a seat on the Parliament. Half of them aren't even pure blood immortals."

Aiwyn pauses a moment. "What do you mean by pure blooded immortals?"

Draconis stops to collect his thoughts for a moment before explaining.

"Originally, in ages past, a pure blooded immortal was any member of one of the undying races who is untainted by interbreeding with humans. At the time, their numbers were small enough, and their superiority complete enough, that as a species they became the ruling class of Akaton. The term tends to refer to the elves mostly, but the older vampire bloodlines use it as well. More recently, as a result of the increasing non-royal elvish population and growing acceptance of humans, the only ones really able to prove their lineage are the descendants of the ancient royal families. Thus, the pure bloods and the ruling nobility are one in the same, which brings this full circle, back to our discussion."

Aiwyn nods. "Then every noble in the Resurgent Dream and at least one in five of the commons meet that criteria."

Draconis sighs,

"Well, in that case, it seems you have an easier task than I. A shame really, Akaton always has had a shortage of nobles, barely enough to govern our own Imperium. If this joint parliament is to have equal representation, I'll need to either open things up for the lesser nobility or grant quite a lot of new titles. But, I suppose this is a topic more in need of a scholarly debate than a casual conversation."

A servant steps out onto the balcony, a tray in hand.

"Your breakfast, majesty."

Draconis looks to the servant, then back to Aiwyn.

"It would seem the food has arrived, love."

Aiwyn sighs as well. Then, suddenly, she grins. "I have an idea. We don't need equal numbers of nobles at all. We can just give 50 seats to nobles from one island and 50 seats to nobles from the other, letting the nobles of each island pick their representatives. That way, there's equal representation regardless of noble population."

Aiwyn takes the food, beginning to eat daintily.

Draconis grins back, reaching over and kissing Aiwyn.

"Now that is a truely inspired idea. I just don't know what I'd do without you."

Aiwyn kisses back, smirking lightly. "Marry some other girl, probably. She wouldn't be as smart or pretty though." She winks.

Draconis makes a face of mock surprise, speaking between bites of a glazed doughnut.

"Why, dearest, I wouldn't think of it. I'm sure it would be impossible to find anyone else quite like you."

He pauses briefly to swallow,

"Seeing that the affairs of state are over for the time being, is there anything you would like to do?"

Aiwyn just smirks, finishing up her food. "Well, I don't really care what we do, so long as we do it together. It might be a nice change of pace to go to the beach. We have spent so much time in the palace since the wedding with no one but servants and courtiers about."

Draconis considers Aiwyn's suggestion for a moment before responding.

"Yes, the palace does get a bit stuffy after a while. As far as beaches go, it can be difficult to find one suited to walking on. The ones away from the cities are probably best, at least unless your idea of a walk on the beach includes toxic fumes and coastal fortresses. Once you get far enough from the cities, the beaches still have sand and the water still has fish. One of the few places nature has managed to hold on here."

He pauses as a servant comes by to collect the used plates.

"The closest beach I can think of is less than an hour's flight by hover-jet. That is, if you want to go."

Aiwyn nods, smiling. "I do if you do. I could sunbathe. You could fish. We could go swimming. Maybe we'll see some mer. Sometimes they swim all the way over from the Resurgent Dream."

Draconis grins, a certain far away look in his eyes.

"That sounds like an excellent way to spend the day. I'll just make the arrangements for the aircraft and we can be on our way."

Aiwyn nods, turning back inside. She looks to one of the servants. "Find us one of the modern swimming garments so prevalent here. We will only be with our husband so make it one of the more revealing ones." She smirks wickedly.

Draconis smirks in an equally wicked fashion, having heard something about the word "revealing" as Aiwyn returned inside, wondering exactly what she was planning to wear. As he too returned inside, Draconis stops a passing servant.

"I'm going to need an aircraft suitable for a beach trip for two. Have it here within half an hour. Oh, and where could I find a pair of swim shorts around here?"

Gesturing to a nearby room, the servant answers, before continuing on his way.

"They would be over there, M'lord."

Making his way to the indicated chamber, Draconis proceeds to root through the closets before coming upon a pair of blue-gray swim shorts. Laughing lightly to himself, he realized that while it was over a decade old he had not actually gotten around to using the swim suit. Not the most stylish thing he would ever wear, but it was just the two of them anyway.

BUMP (sorry for the brake in the story line, but I let this thread disappear for a while)

Aiwyn glides back into the hallway, wearing a rather revealing green bikini with a thong cut. She blushes bright scarlet. "Human women actually wear these things?"

Draconis walks back into the hall wearing his bathing suit and carrying a few towels. Upon seeing Aiwyn, he smiles involuntarily.

"Human women do tend to wear that sort of thing. Well, at least they do at the beach."

Walking over to her, he winks mischievously.

"I must say though, for a human style, it looks quite good on you. Still, if you insist on being more modest, you could cover up, until we get to the beach at least."

Draconis offers Aiwyn one of the towels he was carrying.

Aiwyn smirks teasingly. "You think we have something to hide?" Nonetheless, she does wrap a towel around her waist, tying it. "We didn't have bathing suits growing up."

Draconis grins faintly, his voice conveying a playful sarcasm.

"Hide? Most certainly not."

He raises an eyebrow at her mention of no bathing suits, commenting jokingly.

"I'm curious, how does one make do without a bathing suit? I'm sure you looked wonderful in nothing at all, but that just wouldn't be proper, now would it?"

Aiwyn laughs. "Well, we had a men's swimming hole and a women's swimming hole. At the time, that was assumed to remove any impropriety. Now...things are a little more complicated. Merfolk still don't wear clothing, however."

Draconis thinks a moment, then laughs at himself for taking such a silly issue as seriously.

"I imagine things would get a bit complicated now, but I can see how that would have worked. After all, what is indecency but a creation of society?"

On the main exterior landing balcony, the hover jet flies in for a landing. It is a small aircraft, efficiently compact but still spacious enough for comfort. As it approaches, wingtip mounted engines rotate downwards, slowing the aircraft to a safe landing speed. The engines cut out and landing struts extend simultaneously, lending the vehicle a certain insectoid quality.

In the main hall, Draconis's pointed ears perk up at the roar of the jet engines.

"The jet is waiting, love. Shall we go?"

Aiwyn laughs a little. "We think you're just being retrospectively jealous of everyone we ever went swimming with as a girl. But...to the jet." She grins, sliding her arm into his.

Draconis smirks slightly, snuggling up to Aiwyn as they walk,

"Now why would I need to be jealous of them? I have you right here at my side."

As they walk out onto the landing area, the pilot of the aircraft snaps to attention as they approach. Draconis smiles to himself, thinking what a funny sight he and Aiwyn must be. A sidhe and an elf, arm in arm walking through a gothic palace in swimsuits was something few could even claim to imagine let alone witness. The pilot inquires,

"What is our destination, my Lord?"

Draconis thinks a few seconds,

"Etherian Point should be nice this time of year, that shall be our destination."

The officer bows,

"By your command."

Aiwyn just smiles, walking with her husband. She glides into the plane, sitting with simple elegance and crossing her long legs. "So where is it we are going?"

As the engines come back online, Draconis drops unceremoniously into a large leather seat on the small plane glancing over towards Aiwyn.

"We are headed to Etherian Point. It is nice little place about one hundred and fifty miles away. Clear water, white sand, everything you could want from a beach. It should be nice and peaceful; few in Akaton frequent the beaches, particularly one as remote from the cities as this."

Aiwyn folds her hands lightly together on her lap. "It does sound rather lovely. We should probably take a formal tour of the entirety of Mists at some time. It would help to create a sense of unity and stability, especially after the conditions of our mother's disappearance."

Aiwyn looks off a little, sighing as she thinks of her mother. "We wonder if her disappearance might have been connected with Grand Duke Sebben's death. He was found dead the same morning she disappeared, not that we mourn the beast. Perhaps mother accomplished the deed herself."

The plane gracefully lifts straight off the ground, engine pods rotating to provide forward thrust. It accelerated to full speed in seconds, an inertial dampener easing the effects of g-force. Draconis sighs, taking on a more serious tone.

"We will indeed need to make a tour of the Mists. With Mother missing, we can't allow ourselves to look weak, not to our people and most certainly not to our enemies. What has become of the house of Balor since Grand Duke Sebben passed from this world?"

Aiwyn frowns. "It looks as though they're headed for a civil war."

((Assuming this takes place before the war.))

Draconis stares out the window a long moment before responding.

"When will they learn? There is never a winner in a civil war, only degrees of loss. Still, if there is to be war, Akaton will favor the Seelie Court."

Aiwyn shakes her head. "There are no Seelie Balor."

Draconis considers for a moment what Aiwyn said,

"Well, I imagine not. However, it has been my experience that civil wars often spread. It wouldn't surprise me if the Seelie Court is eventually drawn into this as well. Also, wasn't Grand Duchess Beatrice part of a Seelie house before she joined Balor?"

Aiwyn arches a brow. "Of course. She is my Aunt."

Draconis smirked, a dark glimmer in his eyes.

"My point exactly, love. When it comes down to war, it is with Aunt Beatrice that we must place our support. She already has the support of custom to replace her husband, and with our support as well... Let's just say that this war might be brought to a rather swift conclusion."

Aiwyn arches a brow lightly at her husband. "Today, we go to the beach. We need to talk about this later, however."

Draconis shrugs slightly.

"I suppose I did say we would have a relief from the affairs of state. So then, to the beach."

In the distance, the hazy bluish outline of the ocean appeared on the horizon.

Aiwyn grins brightly as she looks out the window, silent for the moment.

Minutes pass. The aircraft now begins to slow and descend towards the beach below. The pitch of the engine noise changes dramatically as they switch from flight mode into vertical landing mode. The jet lowers itself gracefully onto the top of a sand dune, sending up plumes of blowing dust. To the left, the sand dunes gradually give way to the scorching northern ash wastes. To the right however, lies a view straight out of heaven. One hundred meters of pure white sand, unmarred my by the filth of tourism or industry.

As the roar of the engines gives way to the crash of waves, Draconis turns to Aiwyn,

"I do believe we have arrived."

Aiwyn grins. "I do believe so, my dearest." She leans over and kisses him lightly. "Shall we promise to leave all our affairs of state on the plane? We so rarely get to be simply Aiwyn and Draconis."

Draconis kisses back, smiling as the door retracted.

"I intend to leave all those responsibilities behind, every last one of them. Let us call this a little vacation."

"Let us then." Aiwyn looks to her husband expectantly as the door opens, unfastening her seat belt.

While most of central Akaton is covered by a cloud of dense smog, the sky here is clear and cloudless. The sun shines brightly, warming the air and sand comfortably. The temperature suggests a mid-summer day.

Kicking off his shoes, Draconis hops down onto the sand dune. Shielding his eyes from the light, he looks toward the sea. Turning back to Aiwyn, he smiles.

"Care for a swim, love?"

Aiwyn waits expectantly another moment before rising, gliding out of the plane and out onto the beach, tossing her towel aside. "A swim sounds lovely."

Out in the ocean, a light splash can be seen and an indistinct shape appears briefly above the surface.

As Draconis walks down the sand by Aiwyn's side, the movement in the water catches his eye. Fixing his gaze upon the half-seen form, he tries to identify it. It wasn't quite like anything he had seen before.

"See that shape out there? Do you know what sort of creature that could be?"

Aiwyn squints hard, putting a hand over her eyes. "I'm fairly certain it's a mermaid."

Draconis grinned in a way more resembling a schoolboy than an immortal emperor.

"A mer off the coast of Akaton, that is something I never imagined I would see."

Aiwyn grins. "The mer know of the alliance. They are our vassals...somewhat."

Draconis looks from Aiwyn to the mermaid then back to Aiwyn.

"Ah, in that case, I suppose I should be honored that one would come here."

The wind died down a bit, making the sun's beams a bit warmer than one might like. The elf looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun. What I would do for a few clouds, he thought. Turning back to Aiwyn again, his eyes sparkly playfully.

"Still feel like a swim, love?"

"I do." She grins a little, wriggling her near perfect body as she moves quickly into the water. "Catch me if you can!" Aiwyn might have quite a few skills but running is certainly not one of them. She's in shape, true, but not exactly fast or athletic.

Draconis laughs, starting after Aiwyn. He is not an athlete in the least, his appearance and toned musculature being the result of an adaptive metabolism. Thus, he is quick, but has little grace running across the sands. Splashing into the water next to Aiwyn, he smiles.

"Ah, now this is the reason to come to the beach."

"The water or the women, love?" Aiwyn winks, paddling out a little ways. She doesn't duck under yet. She's always a little heistant to put her head under salt water.

Draconis smirks,

"In most cases, I would say the water, but in you're case I might make an exception."

He swims out to Aiwyn, ducking under to look at the fish. A few tuna are chasing each other, while an extremely small octopus hunts along the bottom for clams. Draconis comes back up a few seconds later, wiping the water from his face, smiling despite the slight sting of salt water in his eyes.

Aiwyn smiles, treading water closer to her husband. She wraps the warm flesh of her legs around him, clasping her hands together behind his neck. "That's what I thought."

Leaning forward, Aiwyn kisses him lightly before dropping back, splashing playfully.

Meanwhile, the figure out at sea dives under, a ripple in the surface approaching rapidly.

Draconis pauses as Aiwyn embraces him, thoroughly enjoying the kiss before the approaching ripple catches his eye.

"Well love, it would seem that we have company."

A woman with silver hair and gills rises from the water, visible down to her waist. The woman is entirely nude and rather beautiful, though not -quite- so much as Aiwyn. The woman smiles faintly. "Hello, dir...friends. I am the Lady Tormalia ni Lorelei." When she speaks, it can be seen that her mouth is filled with thousands of tiny, razor sharp teeth.

Draconis felt a certain amount of embarrassment, looking at the naked form of the mermaid in the presence of his wife. He tried to cover up the embarrassment, resulting in a strange look rather like a combination of frowning disapproval and a smirk.

"Well, um... hello m'Lady. It is... an honor to have you here."

If Aiwyn is bothered by it, it doesn't show. "Hello, m'lady. What brings you this far east?"

Tormalia smiles. "I was just patrolling. You never know when sea monsters might attack, after all."

Draconis takes on a more natural expression, the initial shock of the mer's lack of clothing quickly wearing off.

"Well, for that I owe you thanks. With the dissolving of the oceanic fleets, the shipping routes of Akaton have become infested with such creatures."

He stops, thinking a moment, then frowning.

"Oh hellfire, I promised not to let matters of state interfere with our day, didn't I?"

Tormalia shakes her head. "You did not promise me anything. However...youa re Draconis, He-Queen of the Dir...Landwalkers?"

Aiwyn smirks a little, surpressing a giggle. "He promised me."

Draconis works actively to suppress a laugh. 'He-Queen?' he thought, glad that at least the mer had some idea who he was.

"I am Draconis, and, well, it's Emperor actually, but close enough for now. Aiwyn is right, I did promise her. So, if you want to spend a nice, relaxing day at the beach, you have come to the right place. However, I'm afraid that talk of trade lanes and sea monsters will have to wait for later."

Tormalia frowns slightly. Then she turns to Aiwyn, arching a brown ever so faintly. "Please instruct your man how to properly deal with a lady of high blood." With that, the mer vanishes beneath the waters again, swimming off.

Aiwyn frowns lightly, looking to Draconis. "I'll have to deal with this. Fortunately, not until later."

Draconis looks distinctly annoyed, though that annoyance is directed more at himself than at the Tormalia.

"Curses, I do so hate making a fool of myself. In hindsight, would I be correct in assuming that the mer place great importance in protocol and formality?"

"The mer place great importance in themselves, love. Do you want to know the official title they give their queen?" Sighing lightly, she paddles over to her husband, nuzzling against his body a little.

Draconis smiles, kissing Aiwyn as she nuzzles him.

"Now this I've got to hear. What is the mer Queen's title."

"Her Most High, Exalted, and Imperial Majesty, Queen Elyssa ni Syrinx, Mistress of All Oceans, Heiress to the Gods, Highest Blood, Queen Among Queens, First Among All Created Things, Ruler of Life, Commander of the Hosts of Creation, Speaker of the World."

Draconis laughs a moment. When he speaks, it is in a joking tone.

"Well, that is a rather lofty set of titles. One must wonder how she remembers it all."

As the afternoon progresses, a few clouds begin to gather in the distance. They move slowly, but seem to grow slowly darker over time.

"Well, she is incredibly arrogant. But, hey, she rules..." Aiwyn pauses to think a moment. "...a hundred thousand people. The earth only has about a trillion or so. And all that lives is only about twice that. I guess she's on her way."

For the next few hours, Aiwyn swims, splashes, kisses her husband, and generally has a much better and a much more relaxed afternoon than she's had in quite some time. As the clouds start to gather, she looks up with a slight frown. "Are you in a bad mood?"

Draconis looks at Aiwyn with a rather quizzical expression.

"Bad mood, what do you mean? I've been enjoying our little visit to the beach thus far. However, if those clouds persist I will be in a bad mood shortly."

Aiwyn blinks. "Well, we're in Akaton. I assumed that if the weather were bad then that meant your mood was as well."

Draconis frowned faintly as the first few raindrops splashed around him.

"I'm afraid that as hard as I may try, Akaton's weather simply won't respect my will. Blame it on random chance or some ancient god, but the rain seems rather inconsiderate of our day at the beach."

Aiwyn looks genuinely puzzled. "But...you're the Emperor. The King and the land are one." She pauses a little. "Perhaps we should do a faerie ritual on the Island of Hera. I think it might fix this."

Draconis smiles.

"Ah, that would explain it. As you might imagine, no such rituals have been preformed on Akaton, nor do our magi even posses the necessary knowledge. However, that sounds like an excellent idea. I'm sure our future home would be much improved by such things."

Aiwyn nodded and leaned in to kiss her husband again before swimming back towards shore.

FIN

((OOC: Want to do a thread for this, set after the other threads they're currently in? I'd also like to do a formal Treaty on Hera island determining the extent that the Empire of Mists functions as a unit. I don't think I want it as strong as I originally did, because that's been kind of tricky to play and cause Agwene's been developed a lot more. It might even be that Aiwyn just relinquished her claims to actual power, settles for being you wife, and we just have a really close alliance. Anyway, I'd like to work that out ic. COuld be the same or different threads.))

Draconis follows Aiwyn back to shore, returning to the waiting aircraft. The hover jet lifts off just as the rain becomes heavy, quickly disappearing into the darkening sky.
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OOC:
That makes sense, particularly because the Imperial Exposition thread has finally reached the coronation ball. With Aiwyn and Draconis officially being named Emperor and Empress of the Mists, it would be useful to know what exactly that means.

Also, I wouldn't mind making the Empire of Mists a bit weaker either. An alliance as close as the one we have recently had tends to slow down the progress of a thread significantly.

We should be able to fit the Treaty of Hera and the relocation of our Emperor and Empress to that island in the same thread. It should definitely be set after all our current threads, just to avoid confusion.

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=7923885#post7923885