NationStates Jolt Archive

The Republic of Aresium did not discriminate against other nations on the basis of their ideological orientation even if the notion of political ideologies being the basis for one's policies was considered to be horrid in Aresian cliques and this came into the spotlight as it had before when the Republican Government decided that the nation of Alfegos would be targeted for diplomatic overtures out of the rumors that were spreading like wildfire that suggested Alfegos was a humble and amiable nation. This had been proven according to officials with their evidence of how good Alfegos seemed to be with other nations in the past. Philomena Kosseri thus gave orders to the Councilwoman for Foreign Affairs, Levana Flaman, to send messages to her counterparts in the Fegosian state whilst she would retreat to her complex where she proceeded to continue her studies of the works of Seneca whom she had taken quite the interest in. She had been famous for her daily studying of philosophical texts written by the wise men of the centuries from the orators of Ancient Rome to the more modern philosophers who wrote extensively on all sorts of topics and it was often said that Epicetus was her personal favorite out of them all for in him she had apparently found the purest truth which she could, as Kierkegaard said, live and die with. On the days following the sending out of the message, Philomena Kosseri had contemplated the necessity of finding someone who could take up the banner after she had dissolved into nothingness with the flesh rotting away into dust. She did not know who she could trust with such authority after she died. Was it possible that she would find the ideal successor from among her faction's own ranks? Could she name Adra Zaril the heir? No, she was too sadistic. If she was appointed, would she have celebrated her ascension to authority with mass executions? If she had nominated Levana Flaman, would there be the ascension of a Lesbian Renaissance? She could have a child and nominate that child as her father had done with her before he died. If her child was to be heir then he or she would have to be indoctrinated into philosophy and politics as she had went through. Ideological politics would never taint the child's mind. The gospel of Platonic Republicanism had shoiwn the Aresian people that political ideologies were but massive errors concoted by foolish people such as Karl Marx who Philomena had learned was ignorant of the human pride inherent in us all so saith her Spartan tutor of old.

As Philomena studied the works of the tutor that guided the hand of the Emperor Nero before he came to the throne, Levana Flaman had been busying herself with the messages she had sent to the Fegosian Government and had been wondering about how they would take the idea of opening relations with the Platonic Republicans who governed Aresium and whose gospel of ideology free politics and harsh criminal punishment had reigned since 1953 when the people gave away their short lived democratic rights in a referendum that displaced the Cleomenids from the throne they had held since 323 BC. Levana hadn't taken part in the rebellion but her parents had and they voted for the change to what the anti-monarchists had called a permanent interregnum. They voted against the Platonists when they came to the spotlight but did not mind Levana working for them in the end since they had voted in favor of her posessing the right to say what she wanted and to believe in it. It was just like Kierkegaard had said when he had written his works with all of those pseudonyms such as Judge Wilhelm. Levana had typed up copies of one single letter in which she beseeched Alfegos to accept the plea of Aresium. It wasn't that hard to garnish a simple message with fanciful words especially if you had a top notch education at a university where you did not only work hard at your studies but also slept with your fellow female classmates. Unlike Philomena, whose maidenhood had been guarded by her father with ruthless passion, Levana had lost it to a woman and never looked back. She wasn't born a lesbian, she once said, but she chose to be one because it felt so much better in her mind. Yet, let us not deal with such a topic but proceed to what she had written to the Fegosians:

To whomever it may concern,

The Republic of Aresium has desired to make it known to the government of Alfegos that we wish to open relations with your nation in the hopes of garnishing our amiable and barely existent diplomatic relations with a strong and firmly constructed friendship between our two nations despite our political differences. If it is your will, you may send a diplomat to meet with myself and our representatives. We hope you will consider our offer.

Signed,
Levana Flaman,
Councilwoman for Foreign Affairs

Levana sent the letter immediately after it was composed and then reclined on the comfortable chair she had in her office and felt that everything felt calm. She decided to just relax for a while and look over some reports about foreign affairs such as the recent military co-operation pact signed with the Puritanians and about her own travel agent's plans to get her out of work for a while with a nice vacation.

It was a couple days after the message was received from the government of Aresium that a lone craft cut across the skies towards Aresium. The craft could hardly be called small, though it was in comparison to others of its type. An air yacht, named the Los'bora after the easterly trade winds that had so benefited Alfegos when sending out airships across the world, spreading its influence to touch the entire globe. This craft was no exception: riding the 90 km/h winds of the higher atmosphere, the two elegantly-shaped engines required little power to keep up its high speed as the gasbag, painted a pure white, cut through the clear air at their altitude.

Aboard the airship, inside the gondola slung underneath, a man stood silhouetted by the large electrochromic windows, gazing out upon the skyscape with a feeling of awe: he had been aboard his craft countless times, and still had never got over the beauty of the clouds that hung beneath him, tendrils and wisps of vapour reaching out as they pleased from the wake they left behind them. The light coming in from the untinted window revealed a tall, tanned man, used to the climate of his homeland Alfegos. His hair was thick and brown, the years of sunlight bleaching it to a much lighter shade, and the years of his ambassadorial service meaning it was well kept, not the mess he had been used to many years ago.

He turned as he heard his PDA ring, a short sharp beep telling him to return from his rêverie to the real world. As he turned, the glass darkened, reducing the harsh white light to a gentle warming glow. The final rays of light revealed his face: a well-formed visage of many years of care, smooth skin and carefully cut hair showing the man's character well. The curiosity that showed he was from Alfegos were his eyes: whilst one glowed a vibrant green, the other burned a dark brown.

Quickly checking the message on his PDA, which was a trivial update from the Foreign Ministry of official Alfegan stance in this meeting of the two powers, he paced over across the large meeting room he was in, a long narrow space that stretched the entire width of the gondola. Picking up a sheath of documents he had been studying, he left the room and moved down a calmly illuminated corridor to his personal chambers, one of the eight bedrooms aboard. The others were taken up with his three attachés, his secretary, and . Inside, he let the door close before letting in the bright light once again through the wall-length window. Below, he could see the nation of Aresium, an hour or so away, slowly moving towards them. Opening the file, he sat down at the desk by the window, and began re-reading the documents.

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A few hours later, the air yacht lay moored at the capital airport, taking up slightly more space than the larger planes of the area. Outside the gondola, the ambassador stood waiting, having now donned a pair of back sunglasses along with a crisp shirt, trousers and suit. Alongside him, the four other members of the ambassadorial team stood waiting for the Aresium delegation, whilst the crew of the air yacht went about refuelling and resupplying routines for when he would leave again.

Listening to the compositions of deceased musicians who blended European and Aresian musical styles together for the sake of creating musical masterpieces while reading the works of wise philosophers who lived long before such musicians were concieved in their mothers' wombs was one of the favorite pastimes of Philomena Kosseri. She had always been an intellectual who appreciated the finer things in life such as philosophy and music instead of approaching them with contempt as the mere interests of elderly people. As her tutor had once said, you did not need to be a grey haired old coot to understand how the world worked. While she was busy studying, she heard Lanus enter her study room with her hand rubbing the head of a bust of some old wise man that she noticed nearby as she walked inside. Philomena's study room was filled with all sorts of books and intellectual trinkets that made her look like a female Faust. Lanus smiled when she saw Philomena looking at her with a childlike gaze. Philomena still retained the innocence of her youth because her father had made it so that any man who would ever carnally know his daughter would never see the light of day ever again and thus Philomena had to live like the most devotedly celibate nun to ever have lived although she never seemed to care much about it save for when boys were frightened away by her father's stern security guards who were authorized to shoot and kill regardless of age and gender according to their superiors.

".....The Fegosians have arrived, Philomena, at the local airport. Levana has already begun greeting them and expects to make some good progress during the meeting at hand."

Philomena did not move her eyes away from the works of the Roman orators that she had been intently reading prior to the conversation with her zealous bodyguard. She could easily multitask, she thought, as she continued to read but then she had remembered a conversation she had with her father about his work. OOC: This post is going to be long, Alfegos, but I'm trying to give Philomena reasons to be around in the meeting so here we go with said reasons.
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Jason Kosseri was one of the most ruthless Supreme Guardians to grace the land of Aresium with iron fisted benevolence ever since the Platonic Republic was founded in the mid 1950s by a rabble of well educated intellectuals who believed only their gospel could save the nation from political and economical ruin and it had been Jason who ruthlessly enforced this notion, that is to say, that he would do anything he could to make sure that the Platonic Republicans retained control for the common good of Aresium. It was after he had made love to his wife and then subsequently met with his ministers that he had been spotted by Philomena who was the oldest of his three daughters for he had no sons although that never seemed to bother him. Philomena was only fourteen at this time and had not known much about her father's plans for her future in the Republic. He had been designing Philomena as the ideal ruler who would keep Aresium out of the world's bullshit. He would make sure of that. The heavens forbid, he would often say to his wife, that Philomena should be the downfall of the Republic!

The two exchanged familial greetings before walking with each other down the hallways of the Kosseri family's massive complex that was filled with all sorts of sculptures and paintings of Aresium's many heroes of culture and bloodshed such as Cleomenes whose descendants reigned as the Kings and Queens of Aresium from 323 BC to 1953 AD and Cleomenes' wife, Adara of Themiskyra, who put fear into the hearts and minds of the soldiers she fought in battle like a crazed banshee. Philomena knew all about these people and all about how Jason envied them. He adored them.

".....Father, do you think I could take part in one of your meetings?"

Philomena had always been interested in the meetings her father often held with his ministers who were usually sullen faced and emotionless men in black suits that went around orchestrating all sorts of things such as the deaths of criminals and the healthy upkeep of the economy which flourished in Jason's administration. He smiled and patted Philomena on the head. ".....You wouldn't be bored if I let you attend one?"

Philomena giggled. ".....I wouldn't be bored, Father! I'd love to see what you do all the time and which keeps you away from me and the others for hours on some days!"

Jason nodded his head. He remembered that he had to take his leave of family outings on some occassions because his ministers wanted to meet with him and, at times, he was really annoyed by this. He wished that he could be like the second Cleomenes whose carnal naughtiness in the meetings he had caused so much jokes to be made about it but unfortunately he couldn't do that. He would leave with contempt while his wife sighed but, fortunately, she didn't think it was hard to understand. There were times in which a man's career provoked his wife to turn him into a cuckold. Thankfully, the gorgeous wife Jason had been blessed with would never consider such disloyalty!

It turned out that Philomena would eventually get to attend a meeting of the ministers but it was very depressing because it was sometime after her father had died and she had always wanted to attend a meeting WITH him rather than WITHOUT him. She approached the first meeting with ruthless devotion. The flashback ended when these words were said: ".....Thou art bestowed with the power of life and death over the masses, Philomena. Rule wisely!"

She knew, now, what she would do. She would meet the Fegosian representatives and, hopefully, would make sure they left with a good impression of the land she loved.
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Whenever foreign diplomats would come to Aresium for whatever purpose that their governments had bestowed upon them, they would usually see the foremost lesbian politician in the entire Republic of Aresium waiting to welcome with the usual greeting she had saved for every situation of this kind. The airship that the Fegosians used would be stashed away somewhere safe while Levana greeted the Fegosian representatives with her own entourage and with a smile.

"....Welcome to Aresium, representatives of Alfegos. I am Levana Flaman, the Councilwoman for Foreign Affairs. Who leads your esteemed party here today?"

The ambassador brushed back a stray lock of hair behind his right ear as he saw the delegation that would be meeting them pacing across the tarmac. His neat clothing rippled slightly in the light breeze, the sound of cloth hitting cloth emphasised by the fabric of the gasbag caught up behind him. As a group of the ground engineers moved to fix the offending section, he stepped forward from the group as the others nodded their greetings to the party that had now arrived. He lifted off his glasses, revealing his strange eyes, perching them on his forehead as he bowed to the women in front of him.
"Good afternoon ma'am. I am Ambassador 1st Class Jio'so Lia'soi, head of the diplomatic party sent from the People's Republic of Alfegos. It is an honour meeting you. With me is Financial attaché Ut'io Ka'la, Cultural attaché Iol'mo Ta'xha, Defence attaché Colonel Kla'jo Xha'noa, and my secretary, Se'so Mi'lae Dia'la."
He chuckled.
"Don't mind about remembering full names: they don't stick well in the mind. You may call me Jio'so if you so wish, and my staff will answer to their first names at their discretion."

Behind him, the airship crew began moving, receiving an order to move the craft away to wherever their hosts were to keep it. Behind him, two aides stood with his and his party's luggage, whilst he held a metallic suitcase sealed tight to prevent intrusion into the secrets held inside.
"I thank you for dealing with the press: they don't seem to have formed the normal packs I'm used to meeting as soon as I take foot on foreign soil. But anyhow..."
He trailed off as he began following the greeting party to wherever they were meeting, or to their transportation. In his mind, he turned over what he knew already about the Foreign Councillor: she was very experienced in her job, yes, but it was well known that she was not heterosexual. Not that it mattered in his mind, though it would play a part if the media tried any stunts. He did not judge women by their looks, but if intelligence was directly proportional to appearance, she would easily be a member of Mensa. Not that he was attracted to her: she was endowed in that respect, though he did not think that one of her sexuality would be one to try and flirt with. And, after reading the files, he knew that the Defence councillor would be one to try and avoid such actions with at all costs.

While Levana gave the usual standard greeting to the Fegosians before taking them into her motorcade which would soon head out towards her complex, Philomena Kosseri was busying herself with replying to the newest letter from the youngest sister she had, Helen, who was still studying at university in the hopes of getting the best education possible because she knew it would be needed if she wanted to get anywhere in Aresium. She wanted to be successful like the middle child, Medea, who worked as an actress in Aresian cinema and like the oldest child, Philomena, whose hands held the fates of millions. Of course, there was also the elderly Iphigenia Kosseri, the mother of the Supreme Guardian, who lived alone in an old country mansion where she would recount her experiences as a First Lady of the Republic. A family portrait of the Kosseri family hanged in Philomena's study room where she was composing her reply to Helen's letter; you could see that everyone was smiling against a natural background. It made Philomena think about starting her own family when she thought about it. Medea already said to interviewers she was waiting for the right man and no one could tell what Helen thought. Helen was far too busy being studious then a flirt in the first place, anyway.

The city of Laches had served as the capital of Aresium since the 1430s when the Royal Government had vacated the premises in Thales in the hopes of starting reborn under the administration of Hector II who had been christened like his namesake for the one of many heroes of the Greco-Trojan conflict. It was a marvelous city with skyscrapes intermingling with the temples of old. Statues of the heroes of Aresium dotted the city's landscape and they were often adorned with masses of admirers and schoolchildren whose teachers wanted them to appreciate the sacrifices of the heroes of their land. As the motorcade came rolling into the streets of Laches while people curiously watched, Levana looked at the only other occupant in her vehicle: Jio'so.

He looked quite professional on this particular day, she noted, as she proceeded to talk to him about what he should expect and that he could meet the Supreme Guardian if he wanted to discuss something with her after he was finished with the negotiations. ".....You would be able to meet her, Jio'so, and I am sure she would not mind meeting you. Do you have any questions?"

bumped.

Jio'so sat watching the view from the vehicle window as he entered the capital city. Whilst the undeveloped land outside the city allowed his eyes the pleasure to take in the beautiful surroundings, the conurbation itself was the part that fascinated him the most. Whilst he took in the older buildings and temples, he noticed the shining towers of a modern Aresium protruding from between them, producing an almost unreal effect. In between taking the landscape dimmed to a more manageable shade and listening to the attractive foreign councillor, he took a look at files taken from his briefcase, reviewing his aims multiple times. With access to a budget of Æ20 million in this preliminary stage to cover the costs of any negotiations during this introduction phase and the promise of more, he had been told that establishing positive relations with the nation of Aresium was crucial. The brief stated numerous times the importance of producing an outpost for the Fegosphere, with the potential market in nations of these region for Alfegan products being the type of investment that could not be ignored.

Putting the documents away as the foreign councillor spoke to him again, ensuring she did not read to much of the little that was written in English (the majority being hand-written by a secretary during the meetings that had lead up to him being here in Simplified Fegosian script).
"Yes, ma'am. I would be most pleased to meet the Supreme Guardian at least sometime during this trip."
He thought a little more, before voicing his queries.
"I know this is a trivial matter, but my brief does not include the location of my lodgings. Could you enlighten me please on that matter?"

Putting the documents away as the foreign councillor spoke to him again, ensuring she did not read to much of the little that was written in English (the majority being hand-written by a secretary during the meetings that had lead up to him being here in Simplified Fegosian script).
"Yes, ma'am. I would be most pleased to meet the Supreme Guardian at least sometime during this trip."
He thought a little more, before voicing his queries.
"I know this is a trivial matter, but my brief does not include the location of my lodgings. Could you enlighten me please on that matter?"

Levana smiled. ".....I will be able to arrange a meeting with the Supreme Guardian for you and I am sure that she will be able to accomodate you at her complex where she works and, well, basically lives. As for your lodgings, you will be staying at a newly built embassy compound in the city's embassy district. Do not worry about it. We've made sure it's more than merely adequate."

Looking back to his file, he took out a pen and made a quick note on a blank piece of paper of this development, in great detail. It appeared that the Aresium side had prepared much more than expected: if they had already set aside an embassy compound in this country for them, they were well ahead of the Alfegans. He made a note at the bottom of the page to call back with that order to the Embassy Bureau of the Foreign Ministry. Æ5 million, a quarter of the preliminary sum, would be sufficient at this stage.
"Excellent. I think it is obvious that your hospitality will ensure you have a steady stream of diplomats here many years after now. But tell me, if you are so permitted: what are your thoughts of the Supreme Guardian? Or am I talking out of place ma'am?"

"Excellent. I think it is obvious that your hospitality will ensure you have a steady stream of diplomats here many years after now. But tell me, if you are so permitted: what are your thoughts of the Supreme Guardian? Or am I talking out of place ma'am?"

"What are my thoughts of the Supreme Guardian? It's an unexpected question but I'll tell you that I think of her with much respect and trust. She's proven to be a good leader so far for Aresium."

"That's good to hear, ma'am. If she is, as you say, a good leader, then these negotiations should pass through without any problem."
Though he didn't show it, he knew that the woman's response would probably be subject to bias: she would obviously be expected to portray the leader in a good light. Though the file had said she had a very high opinion poll rating.
"Since my history and geography of Aresium is not that good, could you give me a quick run through? From what I can remember, the nation is based around Greco-Phonecian civilisations, having been founded by them, and follows their ways as closely as it can. I do know about a time where you did have an autocratic regime of sorts, but for the most part have been based around democracy. Am I correct in saying that?"