NationStates Jolt Archive

Theleb Kanaan , Minister of Foreign Affairs walked briskly through the halls of the House of the Republic to the office of Velite General Yash Ihsan, he casually walked into the open office where the secretary ushered him into the Velite General's office.

"Good afternoon Generl Ihsan, I was wondering if I could take up a few minutes of your time?" the Minister smiled pleasantly as he spoke.

General Ihsan nodded "Of course Minister, what can I do for you?"

"We are going to be receiving a delegation from the Empire of the Resurgent Dream. I want you to put together an honour guard and a security detail to meet them at Lassic International Airport NorthEast. Also alert the Air Guard and have them prepare an escort, my staff is seeing to everything else."

General Ihsan nodded again "No problem Minister, I'll arrange everything right away."

The Minister left as the Velite General began contacting his subordinates. The Minister of Foreign Affairs sent a quick e-mail.

To:His Excellency, Count Arakus ap Ailil, Minister of State of the Empire of the Resurgent Dream
From: The Right Honourable Theleb Kanaan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilek-Vaad

I would be most pleased to receive Count Anselm ap Liam and his delegation. I will prepare for his arrival right away. I have also attached instructions on how and where to enter the Free Republic. I have instructed the Air Guard to allow for your craft's arrival and to provide it with an escort. I look forward to meeting Count Anselm ap Liam.

To avoid creating too much of a stir, the Count arrives in a modern private jet of the sort used by most human nations, of Akatoni manufacture. The plane bares the Imperial Gryffon on the right and the Blasted Silver Oak of House Liam on the left. The pilot falls in with the Air Force Honor Guard, coming in for a relatively smooth landing at Lassic International.

After the plane has come to a complete stop, the door slowly descends to reveal the Count. Like all sidhe, he is a pretty man but only to a degree. He does not have the overwhelming beauty some of his people seem to possess. He is dressed simply in a silver gossamer shirt and blue gossamer pants with black leather boots. He pulls back his brown hair slightly, exposing his elegantly pointed ears. The Count begins to descend towards the waiting Vaadians. Behind him soon appear his staff, two human men and one woman, carrying briefcases at their sides. Approaching his hosts, Anselm bows formally, holding it for a three count.

The pilot and the stewardess remain on the plane for now. It isn't customary for them to be present at this type of ceremonial function. After the dignitaries leave, they'll find somewhere to bunk for the night and fly home in the morning.

Great Lassic, is a truly huge city. The plane lands at Lassic International NorthEast, one of the cities four international airports, the city of over one hundred and twenty million stands in stark contrast to the thousands of miles of green that stretch in every direction.

The jet lands and is taxied to a reception area, specially set aside for foreign diplomats. The way into the terminal is lined by Velite Guard in their ceremonial dress uniforms, grey suits with silver breast plates, bracers, greaves and tall athenian style helmets, they are armed with ceremonial silver halbreds.

As Count Anselm ap Liam descends from the plane he is met by a tall blue eyed man in his fifties, with grey hair and a wolfish grin who bows politely to the Count.

"Count Anselm ap Liam, I am Theleb Kanaan, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Free Republic of Ilek-Vaad. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance. I hope your trip was alright? You didn't have any trouble finding the place?"

There are very few photographers or press around, most Vaadians are simply not interested enough in foreigners to make any visit likely to be covered heavily by the press.

Anselm nods. "It is an honor to meet you, Minister. The trip went well enough though it was somewhat disconcerting. It was, you'll understand, my first time in an aeroplane. There was no trouble locating the airport. Your directions were quite clear."

The sidhe smiles, taking a moment to take in the honor guard. "Your reception is more than kind, sir. It is my sincere wish that out peoples can become friends."

The Minister nods to the Count "That is my hope as well, please come this way."

The Minister leads the delegation out of the terminal to a waiting line of Jaguar XJ12 Sovereign Limosines. The Honour Guard follow on either side as the drivers of the limosines move to open the doors. The Minister joins the Count and his delegation in one of the limosines, the spacious hand crafted leather interior being very roomy for five people.

"I thought first we would go to the House of the Republic. I have had my staff prepare a mansion there for your use while you are in the Free Republic. There you can freshen up and then we can meet a bit later at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for dinner and to talk. But for now, just relax and enjoy the ride."

He leans forward and opens the wet bar "Would you care for anything to drink?"

The Limosine and it's escorts move through the city headed inexorably towards it's heart. The city is dominated by sky scrapers interspersed with green open spaces. Suddenly this gives way to a thick Byzantine wall.

After passing through the tunnel like gate they reach Old Lassic, the city now becomes like a medieval town. It's cobbled winding streets lead to fountains and squares, the old city dominated by three and four story brownstone mansions and blocks. Looking all around them they can see the skyscrapers of the new city, surrounding the old like a crown.

Eventually they come to the House of the Republic. It is actually a large park, domintaed by the House itself, a huge domed byzantine structure , and the several different Ministries. On the grounds are also nearly twenty garden style mansions, for guests. On a hill standing to the left of the grounds is the an imposing medieval fortress, the House of Vaad, seat of the Kings of old

The square before the gates of the grounds of the House of the Republic is dominated by a four story statue of a spiky haired,chainmail clad celtic man brandishing a sword that he points eastward with fierce eyes, his other hand gripping a black flag emblazoned with a golden comet on one side and a silver broken sword on the other. The epithet of the statue reads 'Men of Lassic, stand with me, and be not afraid. - Prince Namaan Ilek-Vaad, King of Lassic, Coventry and the Border Principalties.'

The convoy stops before one of the garden mansions.

"Well, here we are. I hope that this is suitable? There is a full staff ready to attend you. Now, I'm afraid I have some business to attend to. I will send my assistant to let you know when dinner is ready and then we can talk. I will be delayed about an hour or two, so if you would like to go out and see the city, please feel free."

Anselm follows the man to the limousines. He and his assistants climb in, settling comfortable. He smiles a little, relaxing. "That sounds quite lovely." he says, when told the basic schedule.

Anselm smiles at the mention of a drink. "I'll take a Scotch, if you have one." The three assistants look to Theleb curiously, not saying anything as of yet. They don't know if the offer applies to them or not.

The four look out at the city appreciatively throughout the ride. Anselm pays particular attention to the statue. "Perhaps you might tell us something of that statue?"

When they finally arrive, he gets out and looks around, the other three following. "It is more than suitable. Thank you dearly. We will probably need the time to settle in, though we shall certainly take in your fine city soon. So..." Anselm smiles a little "...I shall see you at dinner?"

In the limosines the Minister nods and pours scotch for all them.

"Excellent request, The Glenlivet is something of an unofficial national drink."

As they pass the giant statue he nods as the Count comments on it.

"That is a statue of the founder of the Free Republic, Prince Namaan Ilek-Vaad. In 1205 he routed the Knights Purifier and rooted out the inquisition and Papal forces and in 1210 he he defeated the King of Coventry and claimed the throne of Coventry and the Border Republics to the North. In 1211 he nade his council of advisors , the Council of Lassic, an elected body, that council is today called the Republican Council.

The most important thing he did was in his will he disowned his family and abolished the monarchy, making his kingdoms a free and democratic republic. The statue depicts him leading his Velite Guard into battle against the Knights Purifier at the Battle of Haddeon Heights. He is a national hero."

He smiles having recited that from memory. The limosine then pulls up to the garden mansion.

"Let my assistant Sir Alec know if you need anything , or have any additional questions, he knows how to get a hold of my staff. As soon as I am free , we'll talk more."

He pauses before leaving "Oh, to get a hold of him just pick up the phone and ask the operator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ask for Sir Alec. He's around somewhere I'm sure."

They all take their Scotch, sipping. All the men smile broadly at it. The woman nurses it a little. Anselm comments "Quite excellent, I must say."

Anselm listens politely to the story of Prince Namaan. "A most interesting national tale. I only wish we had such memories of our own history."

After the man leaves, the four head into the mansion. They take a moment to examine the rooms, see what's where, and get settled in. The three aids unpack, unpacking Anselm's things as well.

The woman, Elaine Williams, goes to her own room to take a brief nap before dinner. The two men find a television somewhere and talk, watching the local programming. Anselm himself simply relaxes in the garden, reflecting upon what he's seen so far.

The mansion i svery nicely appointed with all of the modern amenities and is mostly wood paneled with tile floors accented by persian and tabriz rugs. The garden is very well maintained, not immaculate, but it is well trimmed and orderly.

The entertainment room offers a 62" plasma TV and there are about three hundred channels available in the Free Republic. Local news is mainly focused on upcoming elections and Rugby finals, apparently a long awaited rematch between the Ilek Panthers and the Costa-Tula Sharks.

The entire layout of the grounds of the House of the Republic is much like a college campus, with larger buildings and quadrangles seperated by green spaces so the mansion is nfairly quiet, even though the grounds seem to be hosting quite a bit of activity.

Night begins to fall and the relaxing occupants of the mansion are roused by Sir Alec Connover, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a younger handsome mane with brown hair and mischievious eyes and grin, he easily locates the gentlemen in the media room .

"Well, good evening gentlemen, I am Sir Alec Connover and the Minister of Foreign Affairs has sent me to collect you and the Count for dinner. The Council has ended session for the evening and now we'll head over to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it's dining room. I hope you haven't ruined your appetites with snacks?"

The two men rise. The taller, dark-haired man speaks. "No, sir. We haven't. We'll go retrieve His Excellency and Ms. Walker for dinner."

The two men split up. The first goes out into the garden. "Your Excellency...it's time."

Anselm nods. "Very well then." Smiling ever so faintly, he drifts after the man."

There's a knock on Ms. Walker's door. "Anne, are you awake?"

"I am now. Is it time to go already?"

"Yes."

"Give me a minute." And shortly, Anne Walker comes out, dressed for a formal dinner, and joins the man. They walk down, meeting up with the count and the other man in the hall and all returning to Sir Alec together.

Anselm speaks first. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Alec."

Sir Alec waited for them to gather.

"A pleasure to meet you as well your Excellency, if you will come with me please?"

Sir Alec leads them out of the mansion and across the grounds , pointing out the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior as they pass them. All of the buildings are about six stories in height and domed with columns before the entrance. They then pass before the House of the Republic again and over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After entering and a few turns they come to a large well appointed dining room where the Minister of Foreign Affairs is already seated, he stands as they enter.

"Ah, excellent, welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , please sit down and relax , dinner will commence momentarily and we discuss whatever should come up in the meantime and during dinner. I prefer diplomacy to be as relaxed as possible, there is no reason we should be uncomfortable just because we are discussing matters of state."

He waits until everyone else is seated before sitting down again, the waiter takes orders for cocktails from everyone and serves them along with the appetizers of steamed oysters, steamed calamari and a chef salad.

Count Anselm nods and the group follows Sir Alec. The four looks up at the great buildings, impressed.

Anselm nods to the Minister's words as they enter. "That sounds like an excellent suggestion, sir. May I introduce Anne Walker, Niles Cranford, and Dayton Khan. They were present earlier but rather quiet."

Anne curtsies. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Niles gives a small bow. "An honor, of course."

Dayton gives a more elaborate bow with a slight flourish. "My honor, good sir."

The four then sit with small smiles. Anselm folds his hands elegantly on the table. "You have a very lovely city, Minister. I do believe I shall greatly enjoy my stay here."

Minister Kanaan looks a bit bemused by the bows and nods in return.

"Very pleased to meet all of you. I am glad that you like Lassic, we do our best to keep it looking presentable. It is very difficult to modernize and yet keep the city historical."

He pauses to take a drink and sample the appetizers.

"I have to wonder what prompted your nation to seek closer relation with the Free Republic? Your presence at the 'conference' held by the Commonality."

He pauses and turns to Alec "I believe you decide that relations with the Commonality were not warranted at this time."

Sir Alec nods "Yes sir, it seemed to be more of a fishing expedition for them." he shrugs.

The Minister continues "We are always pleased to open relations with new friends, but we are very judicious in selecting our new friends. Motive is our main concern. Many nations will do anything to gain our backing and approval for the perceived political and economic gains, but we do not look kindly upon nations that seek to gain at our expense."

Anselm nods. "In part. It is also part of a general policy. You see, Her Imperial Majesty places very great faith in bilateral relations between nations. If it were practical, she would try to establish them with every nation. Unfortunately, the world today is too large to make that feasible. Still, it is Her Imperial Majesty's policy to establish relations with nations which come to our attention as potential friends."

Anne nods to Sir Alec's comment. "The reports I read suggested that it was a very non-commital conference."

Anselm continues. "If you look at our history, you will see that it is not one of dependence. With the exception of one or two military emergencies, we are not in the habit of requesting aid from our friends. And, when we do, it is aid of a sort which we are willing to recipricate in full should the situation be reversed."

"We only pursue bi-lateral relations. Which is probably why we have so few foreign embassies. I prefer to think of it as quality over quantity. I would like to know more about your nation and where exactly your government stands and a synopsis of the type of government as well. The Constitution of the Free Republic is fairly restrictive in how we may interact with non-democratic regimes. First we should establish waht we have in common, to see if we are indeed capable of becoming reliable partners."

The Minister, as usual for Vaadians , got straight to the heart of the matter.

Anselm nods. "Well, the Imperial Government is a Constitutional Monarchy with a representative parliament drawn from four estates of the nation. The nation is made up of six kingdoms each of which has a good deal of leeway in pursuing its own internal laws and policies. Our foreign policy is one of respect for national sovereignty and non-intervention. We do, however, give out a great deal of monetary and material aid, especially to our trading partners."

The Minister looks thoughtful

"As an Imperial state , you are committed to aggressive expansion? I have to keep in mind how the People will view imperial governments and monarchies, neither are very popular at any given time and our constitution forbids us from formally recognizing such governments."

He pauses as the main course and wine are served.

"We still do maintain relation with such nations and exchange embassies , but you would have to realize that we would not never support a policy of aggressive expansion, or any form of government that is ultimately in the hands of a single person."

He leans forward to emphasize the next point

"The Free Republic will never, never, support wrong actions. If that means we condemn, or even attack our friends then we will do it. We have abandoned more than one allied nation, or close friend because of actions they took that we opposed. I would urge you to keep this in mind, that if our nations do become friend we will stand with you, unless you embrace actions and ideals that we obviously oppose.

National sovereignty is also very important to us, and we always try and respect it. That is why even though we are opposed to monarchies, dictatorships and imperial expansion, that we will not invade other sovereign nations to stop these practices. We may find them abhorrent, but we understand that others do not."

Anselm answers simply enough. "No. We have never expanded our borders by force nor invaded another sovereign nation in the entirety of our history. As to form of government, well, that is in our blood in a very real, very metaphysical sense. To say that the Resurgent Dream could be a republic is to ignore the metaphysical, magical nature of its inhabitants. Unlike human wizards and witches, we do not simply do magic, we are magic. We do not need to decide philosophically what life is to mean. Almost every race in the Resurgent Dream was created by the gods for a very specific purpose to which it is especially fit. It should be a sufficient demonstration of this to simply look at my own visage. Standards are not merely cultural when dealing, not with cultures, but with beings of metaphysically different natures."

The Minister nods and raises his eyebrows at the mention of 'Gods' and 'Magic'. Sir Alec simply grins and eats politely.

The Minister continues as Anselm finishes

"Well, I am certainly not going to ask you to debate, or even discuss your religion and how it reflects on your government. I do understand that quite a few of your citizens are Longeavi?"

Sir Alec clears his throat and explains "Longeavi is a polite Vaadian term for" he pauses "Elf. You see while there some elves in the Free Republic, most who live here have been, well, conditioned by society I suppose to ignore racial differences. Most Vaadians are willfully ignorant as to any real differences between elves or humans, or talking walruses for that matter."

The Minister nods "Yes I certainly don't mean to offend, but it is perhaps something that should be discussed if it does indeed effect your government in a , metaphysical way?"

'Elf' certainly seems to have unsavoury connotations and even Sir Alec does not appear to be comfortable saying it.

Anselm sighs lightly. He just sits a moment, maintaining the unwavering supernatural aura of beauty and nobility that...well, he can't exactly turn off. "Perhaps it would make my point more clearly if I told you I was literally incapable of putting my elbows on this table, no matter how much I might wish to or how hard I might try. If you were to take a sample of my blood, you would not find the slightest trace of anything you would call a cell or an atom. Unless slain with a blade of cold iron, I will never die or grow significantly older in appearance than I am now. Does that help?"

Shaking his head a little, Anselm answers the question directly. "There are perhaps one hundred Longeavi in the Empire, almost all of them recent immigrants from Akaton. I did not truly mean to include them in what I said of most of our races. They do enter our society willingly and with full understanding of its rules."

Anselm pauses again. "I am somewhat curious as to the relation you feel religion has to all of this. I do not find it particularly relevent. If you must know, we have about four or five religions of any size, though absolute freedom of religion is maintained as a matter of law."

The Minister nods.

"Well, when you said that the 'Gods' had created different races in your nation for specific purposes. That would seem to be a barrier for social advancement, and a grounds for discrimination. I understand that you have different physical charecteristics, but I think what I was asking, perhaps not in the best way, is does this affect how your nation is run?

Because of your physical differences are you elevated differently, do you have special privileges? I mean we have a population of about one hundred thousand Bendith Longeavi, but they receive one vote just like everyone else and are subject to all the same laws, as are other Longeavi immigrants. I just want to clarify how your physical and or metaphysical condition works in relation to the governing of your nation, IF it does that is."

Sir Alec butts in "You see ideas that certain people because of noble birth, or of race should be afforded special treatment, is , well , abhorrent in the Free Republic and at least a little bit confusing. While we do have friendly relations with many nations that have noble houses and hereditary kings, they understand that we do not acknowledge such social distinctions based on blood.

It's less a matter of how your society deals with it, then a matter of if you are comfortable with how our society may view it?"

"Precisely, Thank you Alec for clarifying. We of course respect your sovereign right to govern your country as is fit to your people, it doesen't mean that we will endorse, support or even like it." The Minister shrugs with that.

Anselm frowns, repeating himself. "I am not talking about anything physical nor am I talking about anything believed solely on grounds of religious or political beliefs. I am talking about the essence and nature of being as it can be objectively ascertained by any seer. It is literally impossible for any social, political, economic, religious, or cultural decision or change in how our people subjectively think about it to alter their natures, not that they wish to."

Anne frowns a little, chiming in. "It helps not to fall into the habit of thinking of sidhe or any kith for that matter as a biological species or, for that matter, a physical entity of any kind. You have to understand that they ARE magic, not that they practice it."

Niles chimes in. "Exactly. It's not comparable to anything like how we humans work, even in countries with strong division of labor."

Dayton pauses a moment, thinking. "Perhaps ants would be a better analogy."

Both Sir Alec and Minister Kanaan look even more perplexed now. The Minister sits back and rubs his chin.

"Perhaps this is something we can work out later. I seriously doubt that the issue will have any real bearing on establishing diplomatic relations. Perhaps we should move on to explore how diplomatic relation would benefit our nations and your motivations for proposing they be established?"

The Minister seemed uncomfortable discussing meta-physics and magic.

Anselm nods, a little relieved. "Well, there is always trade, of course. We manufacture some very high quality agricultural products, wines, cheeses, etc. We also have a strong art scene with many cultural artifacts. Cultural exchange is also a common goal. We would be open to discussing officer and/or student exchange programs."

The Minister smiles. "Yes, trade is always high on the list, you must understand though that we are a socialist nation and imports are tariffed anywhere from 10-30% and we are very protective of our local businesses, but beyond that we encourage foreign trade, especially with enviromentally conscious nations.

Cultural exchanges are also always welcome and we have always allowed foreign students to study at our universities. Officer exchange would be questionable, the Supreme Republican Commander is very sensitive as to what his men are exposed to, even when we have concluded military alliances he has never integrated the Retaliatory Guard with other militaries or even coordinated military actions with our allies."

The Minister then nods "But I don't see why we can't work on it.It would seem we could both benefit from closer relations."

Anselm nods. "Perhaps he might soften his stance when he sees how truly amazing trolls can be. In any event, our universities are also open. I was speaking to student exchange at an earlier age."

Anselm smiles lightly as he continues. "As far as tarriffs are concerned, well, it is up to our traders whether they would wish to pay the extra expense or not. We have no tarrif beyond a small harbor tax."

Niles smiles a little. "We are very firm believers in environmental regulation. Our people have implemented all manner of measures to preserve the environment from the pollution other nations have experienced with industrialization. The mer would have it no other way. And, of course, there is the dreaming where pollution can not truly reach, lest it be of the soul."

The Minister smiles "Protecting the enviroment is nearly as important as democracy to us, it's rare to find other nations that feel the same. I'm sure that we can certainly come to an agreement that will help us build a solid relationship."

Sir Alec looks a bit inquisitive "I know that you stated earlier that you preferred bi-lateral relations, but are you currently a member of any alliances? It may become relevant as our relations grow closer, it's better to iron out these things in advance."

Sir Alec seemed to be a bit take charge for an Assistant, but Mr. Khan and Cranford may have seen in their channel surfing from earlier that he has been tipped by pundits to be the next Minister of Foreign Affairs, although no official announcement to run had come yet.

Anselm nods. "It is very important to us as well. I am sure we will get along quite well in that area."

Anselm shakes his head. "No, we are members of no formal multi-lateral alliances. We are solidly bound to Akaton in the Empire of Mists. We also have friendly relations with Weyr, Excalbia, the Dread Lady Nathicana, and many other nations."

Sir Alec made a brief not of the nations mentioned, the anti-democratic alliance championed by the Dread Lady was not well liked by the Republican Council.

"We have also severed our ties with formal alliances, usually because the membership of such groups have a habit of breaking their own rules, which effectively invalidates such treaties as far as we are concerned.

I think that for now we have made a good start. I think that I can recommend to the Republican Council that we allow your nation to open an embassy in ours and that we should consider possible candidates for an ambassador to your capital. " The Minister smiles and raises his glassas he finishes his statement.

"A toast to our new relationship."

The four raise their own glasses. "To our new relationship." They all drink with warm smiles.

Anselm grins a little. "This is most excellent news. I will convey it to my government immediately after dinner."

"Our neglection of mass alliances has more to do with our desire to get to know the people any nation we will be working with ourselves. Of course, we prefer when as many of allies as possible are friends with each other...which sometimes works out the same in the end. However, that is not always, or even often, possible."

The Minister nods " Yes, most alliances are simply a nebulous collection of names that are used to intimidate lone nations into meeting the demands of an alliance member. It is interesting to watch closely and see how most alliances quickly become fractured when actually called upon to act within the confines in the alliance in support of a member state.

The Free Republic has never needed the protection of any alliance, and our allies very often do not respect or appreciate the relationship they have with us. That is why we currently have no allies, there is no one in the world that can rattle their sabres and claim to have the might of the Free Republic behind them, except for the Free Republic."

"A fair well of doing things." Anselm says, simply enough. "We certainly have no intention of dropping your name for sabre-rattling purposes. We prefer to rely on ourselves in such matters, when they truly are necessary."

"Well, I wonder then if your and your delegation have any questions about the Free Republic and our government?" The Minister inquires

Anselm ponders. "I would like to know something of your political parties. We have ten parties which regularly partake in our elections, many of which have quite different foreign policies. Are there any viable parties whose victory in an election would mean a significant shift in relations?"

The Minister Smiles "There are currently three political parties in the Free Republic. The Progressive Republican Party, the Republican Order Party and the Vaadist Loyalist Party. Whichever party holds the majority of seats o the Republican Council are able to elect the First Republican and control the agenda of the Council.

Currently a Repulican Order/Progressive coalition steers the Council. The Progressive Party is committed to socialism, welfare, health, education and diplomatic engagement. The Republican Order Party is more open to free trade, less government control, education and a strong military. The Vaadist Loyalist Party is committed to socialism, but pursues a strong military as the number one priority and believes that the Retaliatory Guard should be the vanguard of diplomacy.

I am a Progressive, as such I am committed to opening dialogue with friendly, like minded nations. The Republican Order Party usually has a foreign policy dictated by need and the Vaadists tailor foreign policy to strengthening their political position and extracting favourable trade concessions.

So of course policy changes as control of the Council does, but rarely does one pary undo what has been formerly done in securing foreign relations, unless it patently goes against the interests of the Republic or against the will of the People."

Anselm nods, taking all of this end. "I believe I am coming to an understanding of your nation. I do not truly believe I have much more of relevance to ask at this time."

Anne tilts her head a little. "I have something of a cultural question. What is considered appropriate and inappropriate garb in your nation? We would not want our staff to be disruptive of local sensibilities over something so trivial."

Sir Alec shrugged " Well so long as you aren't walking around naked I doubt anyone will bother you. As for what is fashionable, that's an entirely different thing and varies from region to region."

Anne nods. "Nudity isn't considered appropriate in our homeland either, so that is unlikely to be a problem."

Anselm looks from his hosts to his aids, questioningly. After a moment, he asks "Is that everything then?"

The Minister nods "That would appear to be everything we need to satisfy us. I still have to take the matter before the Republican Council, but I can't forsee anything that preclude the Council from voting to allow an embassy and normalize relations."

The Minister and Sir Alec both stand to shake their guests hands "Thank you very much for answering our questions." adds Sir Alec.

"Of course." Anselm smiles. He and the two other men give firm handshakes. Anne lays her hand in theirs palm down and simply squeezes lightly.

((Fin?))

OOC: I think that should do it, unless you have any curveballs?

OOC: Nope.

OOC: Behind the scenes addendum

IC:

A week after the visit of the representatives of the Resurgent Dream, the Republican Council took up the matter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs recommendation of establishing an embassy.

He spoke as the Council listened intently, the gallery was sparsely populated with a few reporters, political science majors and the odd bored spectator.

"It seems that they genuinely want normalized relations with us, I believe their main motivation is of course economic, after all with over four billion consumers we do present a very large overseas market for any nation. The only concern is their Government, which is a constitutional monarchy which appears to be controlled by a group of Lonegavi known as 'Sidhe' , they do not appear to represent a threat to democracy or stability and appear to be a generally benevolent force."

At the mention of Longeavi there were some groans from the Council, the Minister of Defence rolled her eyes.

"Another Longeavi nation? Let me guess their armed forces are made up almost entirely of other races? We know that the only use that Longeavi have for other races is for soldiers and workers, any freedom they give their 'subjects' is an illusion. I don't see why we should even be meeting with them, let them trade with other Longeavi."

The First Republican shrugged

"I think that Atalea is at least partially right, but that is no reason to dismiss them , relations with the Resurgent Dream should go ahead I think, I mean it's not as if they demand 'tribute'* from their allies and trade partners like the Menelmacari Longeavi."

There were nods of agreement, the Minister of Foreign Trade piped in

"I think we should go ahead as well, we'll see how much they value relations with us when our inspectors aririve to validate their corporations that wish to operate within Ilek-Vaad or to ship products to us. Then we'll see how they operate and if they are serious."

There were more nods of general agreement, the First Republican turned to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Well, who should the Ambassador be?"

The Minister smiled

"It has to be Slaine Ilek, he's the only person I know that is fluent in several Longeavi languages and knows something about their culture, it's true that he seems to rub them the wrong way, but in past dealings with Longeavi he has provided us with valueable insight that greatly off sets the personal dislike that many Longeavi have of him."

The Minister of Defence laughed

"They don't like him because he understands them and their motives, I think he's the perfect choice."

The Council agreed and unanimously voted to establish an Embassy in the Resurgent Dream and install Slaine Ilek as Ambassador.


*this is the common view of Vaadians

OOC: Elven languages won't be that useful. The entire Empire has a grand total of twenty Sindarin speakers and twenty-four Quenya speakers. A notable population of about three million speaks Elvish (as per the D&D nations) but these are not in particularly high positions. If you want to look up military statistics, 99% of sidhe males and 54% of sidhe females serve at leash some time in the armed services. 100% (statistically speaking, there are statistically irrelevent exceptions) of troll males and 89% of troll females serve at least some time under arms. 57% of human males and 12% if human females serve. At any given time, the armed services are made up of 50% humans, 30% trolls, and 15% sidhe, and 5% other.

OOC: keep in mind this simply reflects the general opinions prevelant in Ilek-Vaad. Unfortunately the Sidhe will be lumped together with other 'elven' races as Longeavi.

Ambassador Ilek will be able to spot and appreciate the differences right away, unfortunately those differences will be lost on a large majority of Vaadians and members of the Republican Council. Vaadians in general have a very low opinion of Longeavi races, and see them as oppressive, despotic and uncaring. Their experience has been (especially in the NS world) that 'Elven' nations are usually nations ruled by a small elven minority that control and direct human majorities , they take great offence at this, especially when democracy isn't involved. If you have a nation where there is one person who isn't elected that can make decisions for the whole nation , Vaadians generally will not approve.

Their opinion may change in time, especially with more contact. For now they are pretty set in their assumptions.

OOC: Well, that's not unfair. Sidhe do constitute exactly one percent of the popularion of the Empire and 54% of the Parliament, which is popularly elected. But I wasn't disputing what your people should think, just giving you some reference info.

OOC: I just wanted to make sure we were both on the same page :)

Ambassador Ilek may speak a Sidhe language, he gets around quite a bit...................

OOC: They speak English

OOC: I'm sure they do, but it'd be nice if he could understand their language as well, in case they want to say nasty things about him.

OOC: I meant as a first language. They don't have a language of their own that's known, though most scholars assume they must have at some point. If so, it's lost in the mists of history.