Rombardan-Kumosenkan Diplomacy

[VoxApocrypha]

 Esrellia, 1945.

 To Her Majesty Empress Reito of Kumosenkan,

  The Diplomatic Office of the Imperium of Rombarda sends this message with the hope it finds you well. Under the authority of Emperor Aurelius Vex, the Imperium of Rombarda would like to extend a Olive Branch to Kumosenkan, and engage in a discussion to discuss first the situation in Touli with the Kingdom of Franerre and its border with Elenria, and as well discuss a potential Non-Aggression Agreement with the nation of Kumosenkan, and as well the potential normalization of Relations between our nations if such is on the table.

 Regards, Aidan Lavin, RDO - Under Authority of Emperor Aurelius Vex.

[Sophie]

Aidan Lavin

Your message has been received. We are open to discussing both the topics of the border situation as well as a potential Non-Aggression Agreement with the Imperium of Rombarda. We welcome you with open arms and are available for discussions as soon as you are able to arrive in Fuyonouso. Should you desire we can provide accommodations for all members of your visiting diplomatic team. We look forward to receiving you.

With Honor to the Empress.

Emissary Ninomae Kyou.

[VoxApocrypha]

Emissary Ninomae Kyou

Understood. We will dispatch a diplomat and small contingent of advisors and supporting staff via Longship.
 If possible, Rombarda would thank you and compensate you for providing temporary living arrangements to the Diplomatic delegation. 
The head of this contingent is Vorlun Avis. He will have two advisors and two bodyguards dispatched with him. 

Expected time of arrival: 2 Weeks, 2 Days, give or take 2-5 hours. Should seas be calm.

Regards, Aidan Lavin, RDO - Auth. Emp. Aurelius Vex

---

 It'd been about two weeks.
And a man born so far inland, he was without a doubt hating it on that damn boat. As the crew went through the procedures, the frigate - an older ship with a less impressive armament, chosen largely because it was ferrying supplies and could afford to make the long journey - was approaching Fuyonouso. He had spent as much time in his bed as he could, and while fit he was showing his age, alongside his hate for sailing. He was now on the deck of the frigate, smoking his second to last cigarette. The last, he was saving. This one, was to help him cope with the constant rocking of that ship, the herbs and spices in the rolled up cylinder helping to keep him calm and.. relatively tolerant. 

 Festria were not by nature sailors. Humans and Kithium were more used to the sea, he was not however - Festria didn't usually serve as sailors. 
Or pilots. Generally speaking, they were grounded most of the time. He hated the lack of solid dirt beneath him and his constant rocking had gotten him so dizzy at one point he had almost fallen over the railing.
As they would soon be the harbor, he would be one of the first off of the boat. One feeling of discomfort, exchanged for another as he got onto solid ground, and began to take in his surroundings. The others were soon filing off of the boat to get inspected and as well, for the boat to be inspected. 

[Sophie]

Kyou had informed the Empress of the Rombardan communique the same night that she had received it. After a lengthy discussion, they both agreed that it would be best to assign the case directly to the Minister of Foreign affairs. Over the next few weeks, Emissary Kyou worked directly with minister Kazumi to ensure she was aware of all the details regarding the border closure. Most importantly Kyou hammered the official reason that the border had been closed.

Confident that she could handle the situation, Kazumi and a small team of assistants were dispatched to the Fuyonouso docks as soon as they were informed of the arrival of the Rombardan frigate. The team waited in their armored car until they were given the all-clear. Kazumi approached the Rombardan diplomats and bowed before them. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to Kumosenkan, Vorlun Avis. I hope the seas were in your favor. I also must apologize for the inspection, but I'm afraid we can't be too careful these days. My name is Yamanaka Kazumi, I'm the minister of foreign affairs."

Kazumi's body was that of a white widow spider. Though her legs, like her body, were a pristine white. Her butter blonde hair perfectly complemented her warm amber eyes. She was wearing a modern pink dress that even covered part of her exoskeleton, which a hundred years ago would have been considered blasphemous. She was flanked by two of her assistants both of whom had bodies of rose hair tarantulas and were wearing much more professional and neat attire.

[VoxApocrypha]

It would be difficult to get a gauge for how he emotionally felt about the Kumo. Internally he was unsettled by their appearance - most would be given that they weren't a common sight past grounds owned by Amali, at least as far as he recalled the Demographics of Granuras. As they'd bow, he would bow back. "Greetings. Just Avis is fine." He would tell them. "They were calm the whole way here."

"We'd do the same to your ships if they came to rest in our ports. I figure it only natural given our relationship is not the best, though the captain of that ship may not like it much." He'd say as he looked back to the hull of the ship, before turning to them again. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kazumi." He'd say as he adjusted the button on the cuff of his suit. It was a western suit, something more commonly found in the UKUG and Lusatia, rather than a more traditional Rombardan-Western mixture that had been the unofficial standard of the RDO for decades.

"Where do you intend to hold the talks?" He'd ask them as he set his hands behind his back.

[Sophie]

Kazumi did her best to keep up a warm and welcoming appearance. The truth was all of Kumosenkan was suspicious of the Imperium of Rombarda and that applied most of all to the younger generations including Kazumi. Kazumi was the youngest Minister in Kumosenkan history, but she wasn't selected on a whim. She was thoroughly vetted and was undyingly loyal and professional. "I genuinely appreciate your understanding. We have a motorcade ready to take you to the Capitol building immediately." She turned and began walking back to the car she emerged from.

"We have a meeting room prepared for us. As well as I've set aside the rest of my day for this meeting. If you're hungry I can have food delivered to us." She walked up to one of the cars behind hers and opened the back door, gesturing for the Rombardans to enter. "See you soon." She smiled as they climbed into the car.

It was a very short drive from the port to the Capitol building. Kazumi was the one to open the doors for the Rombardan ambassadors. She led them up into the building, flashed a badge that let them skip through security, and led them straight into a large and very fanciful meeting room. "Please take a seat, Avis. Would you like some tea? Or perhaps something else to drink? My assistants will be more than happy to fetch anything you'd like for you." She smiled and sat on a cushion opposite the entering door.

[VoxApocrypha]

"I'm sure that my colleagues might appreciate it. I will be fine however." He would say. The Rombardan Ambassador would nod their head and then follow them. The ride is spent mostly in silence. They don't seem to refuse to speak, but with no real chit chat to be made, they don't opt to make the effort on their own. When they do arrive in the Capitol building, he would follow them into the room, and wait for them to sit before he took his seat opposite them. "I would be fine with water." he would say as he set his hands to rest on the table, palms down as he took in the interior, letting his eyes wander for a bit as he sat in his seat.

[Sophie]

The minister sent off one of her underlings to go fetch everyone their requested drinks. She quickly returned with glasses and a large pitcher of ice water. Kazumi spoke up first, "Let's begin our discussions, shall we? Rombarda has been completely closed off to us for all of history, so we were more than a little bit surprised to receive your request. Even more so that it was in defense of your most recent ally. It was never our intent to effect the Imperium with our actions. In fact, we've always been more than happy to leave you be, as long as you do the same for us."

[VoxApocrypha]

"..We aren't affected by the actions and they're only an ally to the point of them being in the COG. We had initially been against their admittance. This isn't anything that isn't publicly available , so it's not something I expect isn't widely known by now." He'd say. "Rombarda has never felt inclined to get involved in the affairs of Kumosenkan, nor really to venture anywhere near Touli. We had left that area to Eonia, until its recent fragmenting. Though given recent circumstances, we want to avoid hostilities to the best of our abilities.. and largely, to ensure that what is going on Touli won't affect the Imperium."

"I was also told to state that our government, meaning Rombarda itself, has no intention of stationing soldiers or equipment in or around Franerre. Both out of a general lack of interest and as well, not wanting to potentially provoke an incident that could spiral out of control."

[Sophie]

Kazumi smiled and nodded. "That is calming to hear. Though it was not our fear that Rombarda would militarily use Franerre. Your foreign policy has always been quite clear to us. You prefer to be isolated. It would be a major shock to us if you suddenly became actively hostile towards Kumosenkan. It is one of your bedfellows that raise our concern. It's no secret that Ashigawa wants to expand its imperial influence and that both Kumosenkan and the UKUG act as a massive barrier to entry to all of Touli. We have concerns that Ashigawa now has free entry into Touli to invade Elenria."

"The last thing we want is a war with all of the COG. However, we are not ready to sign a pact of non-aggression as we simply do not trust Ashigawa to abide by the rules set out by a sheet of paper." Kazumi spoke bluntly with a rather neutral expression. "Though we are interested in signing a non-aggression pact with Rombarda, just Rombarda, and in the worst-case scenario of war with Ashigawa we are happy to overlook your alliance with them and keep our aggression away from Rombardan shores."

[VoxApocrypha]

"We.. think it's probably a bit of a overstating of Ashigawa's capabilities in regards to Franerre and Touli and Ashigawa's ambitions, but we can understand the concern." They'd tell them. "And to call them a bedfellow is I feel giving them a bit too much credit, given that they are not as active in the alliance to the degree Rombarda and Nevarra are." He'd seem to be stoic as well, simply offering a nod of his head before he continued. "Rombarda would prefer to maintain a state of peace. We aren't a warlike people and have no interest in violence, and it'd be preferable to maintain a peace agreement even if it is separate from the COG at large and just between us. For the moment we are waiting to see when their current emperor will expire of natural causes and if the heir we expect to take the throne will be either a change of policy or a doubling down. The other shoe to drop I suppose." They say.

[Sophie]

"Perhaps it is an overstatement." The woman shrugged. "But we've always been a cautious people. It's far better to prepare for a worst-case scenario and have nothing happen than to believe in the best case and be ambushed. I am ready and able to talk terms of a peace agreement between us. The only stipulation I must make is that it does not extend to any of your allies. Aside from that Kumosenkan will promise to not make any aggressive or hostile moves against the Imperium of Rombarda or make any moves that harms Rombarda's sovereignty and independence. Provided of course you do the same. Are there any terms you would like to add to that deal?"

[VoxApocrypha]

"That's a fair viewpoint, and most of the government tends to share it. They are somewhat unconvinced about this venture, and I hope to prove them wrong." He'd say. "We would like to establish an embassy and potentially open the path to discussing further deals including potentially trade in the future, though for now we only want to build an Embassy in Kumosenkan. Aside from that, that would be about it in terms of additions to the deal. It seems fair and acceptable."

[Sophie]

Kazumi smiled rather brightly. "I am very glad we can come to an agreement. We can begin construction of a Rombardan embassy immediately within Fuyonouso provided you do the same for us in your capital. I am thrilled that we were able to have such a successful meeting and I look forward to working with Rombarda in the near future." She bowed her head in genuine thanks.

[VoxApocrypha]

He would bow his head in return, and then after a moment, look at his cup.
He hadn't touched it since it had been put down, and he pondered for a second before he would lift it and drink the contents.
When he was done, he set it back down by the pitcher. "This went better than I had expected as well." he said. "I'm glad that we could come to an agreement. This certainly takes a bit of pressure off of the Imperium if it holds, and I fully expect it will. I suppose now we'll have to look into extending this to Amali." They'd say as he slowly started to stand up. "Thank you for your time, Miss Kazumi."