NationStates Jolt Archive

[ooc] This is a diplomatic venture with the nation of Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru. Other nations with grievances towards T-R may attend if they wish (and are welcome to), although it's not absolutely necessary.

Mythelian Isles, Zoogiedom

It was a quiet dawn at the Simmons Complex, a diplomatic resort and meeting-place located on the outskirts of the tropical island Mythelia, not far from the shore. The building was oddly-shaped, a queer new age art experiment of sorts, and completely alone. There were no buildings anywhere near it as far as the eye could see, and even the oceans were devoid of ships.

The barely perceptible sound of a car motor was the first noticeable non-natural sound to interrupt the peace that day, but it wouldn't be the last. It was a grand, sleek limousine, and it pulled up silently in the lot. The doors opened, and four men in business attire stepped out. The limousine left, and the men approached the entrance, where they were greeted by security guards.

"Good day, secretary Dailey," saluted one of them as the secretary of state walked by through the retinal scan.

"Same to you," he said. "Too bloody quiet."

"Most people like it like this," noted one of his companions bemusedly, an austere diplomat, who held the prestigous title of Quaestor R. Meincus.

"Yeah? I like it loud."

It was certainly no secret that the secretary could be an angry, angry person. He preferred a shouting match to peace and tranquility, any day. He was quite suited to his job.

The rest of the congregation passed through security - one of them an older, more cheerful man with white hair and dressed in military uniform (this was Praetorius general W. Beaushene), the other a young man (a diplomat by the name of C. Marius) just out of graduate school, clutching a briefcase tightly.

These four men were here on a diplomatic venture. Zoogiedom was in a war, a bitter and hard-fought war against their larger northern neighbors of Drizzts. Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru, formerly on Drizzts' side, had pulled out after a sound and quick thrashing by the navy of Zoogiedom's staunch ally, Anaressa. There were no real war reparations that Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru could be held accountable for, due to the abysmal and incompetence of their military, and Consul Hansien saw this as a time to make peace and acquire another strong ally in the region. The defeated Tseukamuans had accepted the invitation, and were due to arrive soon.

The four men - two diplomats, a Praetorius general, and the secretary of state himself - walked up a formal staircase and arrived behind two heavy wooden doors. Security personell were called over to open it, and they entered. It was a large, elegant meeting room with an elliptical table, and on it were refreshments: drinks and wine of every variety, and a large number of muffins, ordered recently for the occasion from The Silver Turtle.

"What time are they coming?" asked the young man, Marius, impatiently, glancing at his watch as he plopped his briefcase onto the table.

"Soon. Patience." It was secretary Dailey, a man not particularly known for his patience.

Beaushene took a glass of fine wine and began to drink from it, while Quaestor Meincus took a seat and awaited the arrival of the Tseukamuans. It was then that the grand oak doors swung open a second time, and the Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru delegates arrived.

Maze Kieravich swept up the stairs to the meeting room with extravagent grace, a gentle flush on his cheeks, his lips pursed with a deep emerald hue. His face was painted porcelain, eyes outlined and colored so it seemed his eyes were hollow, emptied of sight. Of course, that wasn't the case, for the whites of his eyes seemed to glitter childishly in the bright lighting of the edifice. Maze wore a white suit - too large for his form - and it was quite apparent he enjoyed being dolled up (for there were deep emerald ribbons tied everywhere, elbows, knees, neck, etc.). He paused for a brief moment and made a sweeping hand motion to the security personnell guarding the entranceway to delegation. The white tophat he wore slid down and covered the upper portion of his face, giving the man a surreal feel.

"May you please open the door...?" His voice bled with a gentle, but... maddening glee and the guards looked to one another. Ramsey, the closest thing Tsukaemu-Rekuwatoru had to a vice-leader, sped up the stairs hastily, skidding to a halt behind his leader. His appearance was less toned down than his master's; his attire was a clean white suit and his face, unlike Maze's, was untouched by powder and cream. The young man bowed to his leader and then to the guards, showing the little things they had to prove they had gone through security moments before, as with identity cards.

Security opened the doors and Maze bolted into the meeting room, throwing his arms out. He smiled slyly and cackled, stroking his cheek like a child would when eager. Ramsey murmured and tagged in behind him, clasping a briefcase in hand.

"I have arrived," Maze said cheerfully, brightly, skimming over the people Zoogiedom had sent to... meet with he and Ramsey. "And... I AM PREPARED TO... Ramsey, speak." He seized a chair and climbed into it over the arm, crossing his legs. "...kekekeke..." He threw his head back and laughed again, removing the hat from his head. He ran a hand through toussled auburn hair and glanced toward the ceiling. Ramsey, on the other hand, shook his head and approached the seat on the side of Tsukamu-Rekuwatoru's dear... mentally touched dictator.

"W-What he means is that we have arrived. He is, of course, the almighty Maze Kieravich, leader of Tsukaemu-Rekuwatoru, and I am Alexander Ramsey, but please, call me by my surname. It is most preferred." He set the briefcase on the table and stroked the leather casing, peering over toward the four men. "And ah, well... let us proceed with the meeting...?"

"Mm, of course. Let us proceed." Maze peered toward Dailey from the corner of his eye, grinning still. He lapped his dry lips and clapped his hands.

...this was going to be one tedious meeting. Hopefully the four delegates were used to it...

Dailey faltered under the frightening stare of this Maze character. He leaned over to the nearest person - he wasn't sure who it was, the general, the diplomat, the pizzaboy, but he didn't care. "This isn't, quite what I was expecting," he whispered.

It turned out to be Praetorius general Beaushene. "Well, we always knew they were a few cards short...but this...frankly, when you're concerned, secretary, we should all be."

http://home.ripway.com/2004-1/54396/maze.jpgMaze Kieravich.

They were interrupted by Meincus, who cleared his throat and proceeded.

"Ah, yes, of course...Mr. Kieravich. Mr. Ramsey. We're here to talk about a possible peace and agreement between our two...glorious...nations. As you know, we're most pleased with your wise decision to withdraw from the current war, and - "

"Do you always dress like that?" interjected Dailey.

Meincus moved on. "...and, as I was saying..."

"Well, firstly, we'd like to establish a few facts," said the overconfident younger diplomat, Marius. "For instance, what caused you, a nation with little prior international activity, to side with Drizzts? And what really caused you to withdraw?"

Dailey glared at him. He hated those whom he called 'youngin's.' He thought them overconfident, too sure of themselves, too...annoying. Whenever he looked at Marius, his eyes shot out daggers. Then he turned and caught side of Maze's face, and felt sick.

Ramsey pretended not to hear the whispering, but he heard it all and it, for some reason, made him smile rather cheerfully. Perhaps they'd be more inclined to give him credit for putting up with the dear man nearly every moment of every day. His attention diverted to Meincus and he let it sit there, listening to every word with a passive sense of... boredom.

The interjection though made Maze shriek with laughter and he turned his head, setting full gaze on Dailey. The man was an odd one, an interesting one, and Maze felt tempted to see how far he could go with disturbing the secretary. He perked his tongue out and again ran it against his lips, chuckling.

"Mm, yes. I decided to tone down for the meeting, but I do dress like this on a daily basis."

He silenced as Meincus continued to speak. Questions. Why did he ally Tsukaemu-Rekuwatoru with Drizzts? Another deranged laugh ripped from Maze and he spoke before Ramsey had any say.

"I allied with Drizzts because I thought it'd be amusing."

Ramsey's eyes widened and he slammed his head into the table. "Damn it..."

"And we withdrew because I was no longer humored. War is not a game I take pleasure in and that is why I withdrew Tsukaemu-Rekuwatoru from such."

"Now let me understand you here," said Beaushene. "You allied with Drizzts because you were...amused?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"...Y-yes! He's one for games really. We also allied with Drizzts because we didn't really enjoy the way you approached the business about the rebels within the country of Drizzts. Really, it just didn't float with us the way you approached it and well, not all people are really that intellectual themselves and to find freedom, they must fight themselves for it." Ramsey mustered the words swiftly, wiping his cheek, trying to repent for Maze's words.

"...Nevermind what Ramsey is saying. I went to war and sided with Drizzts because I was bored. I needed something to amuse me and the whole situation was tempting. Why? Is that a wrong way to think or...?" He brushed some of the black hair from his face, still staring tauntingly at Dailey.

One must understand that, whilst attending a recent party in an unspecified country, secretary Dailey was whacked over the head by an exceedingly large hammer, unearthing a layer of intelligence. Hence, and only hence was he able to make a sensible statement at this time.

Instead of turning beat-red, jumping on the table, and screaming 'yaaaaaaaargh' as was his wont, Dailey began slowly, deliberately, as his companions looked on in awe.

"Do you know why your ally is called Drizzts Army?" he said. He didn't expect an answer; he knew the capacity of Tseukamuan intelligence. "The name is derived from a man named...Drizzts. Their leader. Some time ago, Drizzts supposedly fell ill or something of the sort, and in his absence a man named Dean seized power in what can only be described as a coup, and imposed his will on the country, a will that was opposite to what the country had been operating under for the past...age. There was a time when the rallying cry was 'Lloth is corrupt, lloth is evil, death to lloth!' and the biggest problem was a terrorist organization of Lloth. Today the nation terms itself a Communist Lloth dictatorship. We couldn't allow this to happen and intervened accordingly."

He looked up, startled that he even made such a speech. Praetorius general Beaushene continued, "Generally, we think that going to war on impulse or need for amusement is a very wrong way to think. It cost the lives of hundreds of your own countrymen, and on the other side...bad example."

Ramsey's mouth hung open dumbly, as he looked up toward Dailey, staring rather agape. The words flooded his mind and he sighed, bringing a hand up to the table. Rubbing it furiously, he looked down into the shine and blinked.

"...um, all right. Former ally please." Ramsey was rather amused with the man's speech and he sat up, leaning back into the chair. He cast a brief glance to Maze, who just continued staring straight at the man.

Had he taken in the information...? A long moment of silence ensued from the Tsukaemouan delegates.

"...I see." Maze drew out a hand and peered at his nails. He sighed and rubbed his nose. "Bad example indeed." The young man crooned the words and ran his digits against the arm of the chair, black eyes drifting to the room itself. Again he resumed focus on the secretary and grinned, adjusting his position in the chair. "Aw, up for rapping my wrists with a ruler? I'm sorry if we made some horrible decisions, but I don't think we're necessarily supposed to be the most... ah, what's the word, informed nation of the Isles. I was hoping we'd remain secluded, shrouded in a fine veil of translucent mystery, hidden from the world. Traditions have carried on for hundreds of years and when I had taken the reigns of the country after the passing of the final monarch, I wanted to preserve the culture. If you take notice, we're not a truly militarized country, which is rather odd considering I am a "dictator", a leader at the center of the government, which is probably by definition a militarist style of doing things. We are technologically advanced though. We are the nation no one hears about. The little place on the map that someone perks a brow and points to. 'Oh, hey, where's that?' 'I'unno.'. I'm begging for apology for sinning, for wanting to make someone know where we are, even if it is but for a brief moment."

Maze took a deep breath.

"And I have reasons why I see my life and country as a game. Tsukaemouans are not a conventional people and what may be considered "sadly" in your eyes, they follow the near same wavelength as I do. Things are done for amusement in this world. I took the reigns of my country for amusement and I sit here now, attempting to degrade that man," He motioned toward Dailey, laughing. "With an attempt at seducing for my amusement. I have denounced all ties I had with any country in the Isles of Arden; I have denounced relationships with all people, private and public. I do not plan on invading other countries. I do not plan to wage war upon anyone. War is not a game of my amusement. I wanted to try it out like a child would a new toy, but after I realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, I ceased. I ceased because I have an uncanny love for my people."

Ramsey leaned over toward the four delegates and whispered softly. "I'm sorry. He's bleeding everything out of his system. He hasn't vented nor ranted this much since the last time he's made a public appearance. I apologize so greatly for the fact he's blabbering about nothing important."

Dailey took a deep breath. "Well, moving swiftly along..."

He turned to Marius for assistance. Beaushene leaned towards him and whisphered quietly, 'We're not getting anywhere.' Dailey nodded barely perceptibly.

Marius looked down at his notes/dossier, a slightly bewildered expression on his face, and moved on as quickly as he could. "Mr. Ramsey," he said, leaning forward, deliberately not addressing the nation leader, who he had concluded to be insane utterly. "Please realize the current situation. Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru is a nation defeated in war, and it has caused property damage (though no loss of life) on Zoogiedom's part.

"This is what we are proposing, however. Zoogiedom corporations will be allowed into Tseukamu to invest and rebuild, thereby tying our nations together. Tseukamu-Rekuwatoru corporations are welcome to venture into our market waters. This is a formal alliance, in essence. We are ready to fight at your side should you ever be threatened - but are you ready to do the same for us?"

Meincus looked at his younger counterpart warily, and cut in. "Tseukamu's sovereignty will not be touched," he stated firmly. "We are lending our hands in alliance - in mutually beneficial, and..." It pained him greatly to say it, but with a slight strain he said it anyways. "And for mutual amusement. Our Ministry of Silly Running and Department of Lavish Spending would be most interested in directing corporations to keep Tseukamuans amused, and Zoogies are not an entirely solemn people."

"Ha," exclaimed Marius. "We're not solemn in the least."

Meincus turned sharply to him and gave him a terrifying glare of death, underwhich the younger diplomat quailed and ceased in his attempt to crack jokes.

"So, what do you say?"