Wings and Webs

[StaolDerg]

The Noble Quarters was an ancient citadel that marked Aundui Bay's innermost cliffs that watched over the bay, ancient spires of the palace complex standing tall like obelisks of marble and limestone upon its rocky perch. The legacy of a hundred queens lined its kerosene-illuminated mural walls with hundreds of old furnishing and decorations. The road that led to its gates were guarded by a dozen winged sentinels of stone, their cold brows glittering with bronze crowns carefully engraved with the sweat and tears of long-gone artisans. 

As the Aegis Pact fleet settled into the ancient port, the few hundred royal guards held their stances along the gates and rooms of the Noble Quarters, lining a path for the arriving officials to meet the inselni Queen with curtains of glittering burgundy and silver over their shoulders, the sharp warcrowns of the soldiers emblazoned with the plum blossum of TAKPOE. Security marked the whole route, aided by several regiments of soldiers from the local military districts that watched over the roads in escort of the foreigners. The Great Hall of banquets, parties, conferences, and conventions bustled with palace staff as the great tables were arranged for the arrival of the Kumo Empress, with the heating set to much lower for the comfort of the Kumo. A great feast was prepared should the guests require refreshment and the finest liquor liberated from their caskets in the basement.

Palki herself stood before the window as the final preparations were made, quietly staring out into the distance. The grey sea of the Kumo navy seemed to stare back at her from their moorings, ant trails of white as their sailors presented aboard in their pristine uniforms. Her own army awaited them at the dock of course- a couple lines of beige and tan dresses, with the proud holding of the TAKPOE flag before each color guard platoon. She looked up briefly at the Bay's mouth- a blackened fort sat on the edge of the cliffs, the remains of one of the old fortress leveled by the Kumosenkan navy almost eighty years ago. Its dark contrast to the sparkling glow of the water put her at unease, like the hundred kindred spirits of its loyal soldiers crying to her to learn, to remember.

"Your Majesty?"

She tore her gaze away to her side, finding the scarred face of General Api beside her in a steep bow. The Chief of Staff's warcrown shone brightly upon its metallic surface, reflecting the Queen's own appearance like a mirror. Palki frowned at it unwillingly for a moment, realizing how tired her appearance was. What would the Empress think? The slight twitch of the now-confused officer's lower horn brought her back to reality as the moment passed, the Queen shaking her head and blinking.

"Apologies, General. You may rise."

The officer raised an eyebrow with concern, placing both hands behind her dress uniform, still continuing with procedure.

"The color guard are presenting at the gates and we have the full cabinet at the halls. Everything is set up and ready for the Empress's arrival- she'll be here in about fifteen minutes." 

"Good to hear it. I'll be outside presently."

She was quiet for a moment as the general saluted and left, then sighed to herself, brushing down her dress as she got ready to head out. She shifted the sword at her side and took a final look out the window before making her exit to the gates.

[malloc]

[In continuation from here.]

"I'll do my best, Doku-Kama," the doctor says, nodding. "I only ask for knowledge and information on the current projects and infrastructure of Elenria, and her laws. That way, we can inform our decisions as we move forward. We'll most likely start here, in the Bay region. If food production is good, we'll work on developing wide-spread infrastructure to give better access to basic needs. Is there anything of the upmost concern to Elenria's future at this current time?"

The Director's mind was working through potential issues that could arise such a rapid pace of development. Most worryingly was education, which she suspected was the largest bottleneck of most Touli nations. They'd have to quickly address that crisis before investing too heavily in a modern infrastructure where no one will be able to take care of it but the overseas powers, which was not the optimal outcome of this venture. Likely, they'd have to also bring in the U.K. to provide further support in building up the large rail networks that would facilitate transport across the nation. Elenria wasn't as big as Amali, but Amali had two hundred and fifty years to build up a massive industrial base in comparison to the likelihood of needing to show progress in three-ish years.

Most importantly, and most critically, was the inflow of materials both raw and processed to help build up the nation. Aundui Bay was developed solely for the reason of being a seat of military power. However, the lack of modern infrastructure and ability to service a massive amount of ships at once, especially much larger trade vessels in other parts of the nation, deeply disturbed the Director. They couldn't just route everything through the Bay, it would delay everything too long to get to the other side of the continent. Likely the Kumosenkan investors would need to take up the charge of building up the other port settlements to be able to handle larger amounts of incoming ships. The whole point of dumping this amount of material is to bootstrap development and make it so Elenria can also make massive, worthwhile investments to modernize its industrial base and start relying on its own progress.

It all circled back to education though. Without proper knowledge on Elenria's higher and trade school education, it would be impossible to maintain rapid expansion and modernization. This first year would be spent developing basic infrastructure and food, which didn't need a huge amount of skilled labor beyond city planners and teaching farmers how to mechanize their craft. To maintain a modern power grid, water treatment system, and advanced industrial economy? A farmer from the Boonies wouldn't fare well. They'd also need to prepare for a massive shift in food production, and need to help the farmers meet the demands of a growing rapidly urban population.

As the motorcade ascended the mountain to the obviously-older-than-Amali citadel, the Director asked very bluntly, "What is the average intelligence of Elenria? What is the education like in this country?"

[Sophie]

"From what I've read things are pretty good in Elenria. Education was a priority when my grandmother," she coughed to faux clear her throat, "moved in. The literacy rate is about 87% which is actually up by four percent since the end of the last Staol war. My first move in Elenria was the rural school initiative ensuring that as many kids could go to a school that wanted to. Unfortunately, there are a lot of territories we can't build in. During the construction of an elementary school a few miles out of greatfern territory, the site was bombed. Thankfully no one was hurt but I had to order a fifty-mile buffer zone from any terrorist territory. As far as higher education we've recently opened several technical schools in Elenrian cities. Both military and civilian, and they have begun bearing fruit rather immediately. One of my Field-Marshal's was incredibly impressed with the new weapon designs they had churned out. We're hoping to, within the next five years, open three proper universities in Elenria."

She began searching through a briefcase that was in the hands of one of her guards and handed a sheet of paper over to the doctor. "Here this should have everything you're looking for. Read up because we'll be in the meeting before you know it." After a few more minutes of driving, they began pulling up to the relatively small palace. The Elenrian color guard opened the Empress's door after ensuring that her personal guard was ready to protect her. Reito felt a twinge of shame that she only was able to recognize the queen from pictures but her appearance remained steady. "Your Majesty," she bowed slightly, "it is a pleasure to meet you after all this time. I hope the day finds you well as we have quite a lot to discuss."

[StaolDerg]

The color guard made way with haste for Reito as she emerged from the car. Four rows of Elenrians flanked the path to the massive doors of the palace itself- two rows of color guard headed the motorcade's stepping-off point with a corridor of flags in a wide berth, met by an assembly of the Queen's High-Crested and National Forum, with Palki herself at the head to meet Reito.

She was dressed in a mix of tasseled dress and light ceremonial armor, the sheen of a brilliantly-painted corset peeking out from burgundy cloth draped across her shoulders and sternum. She held herself with deference, wary of the other sovereign's possible temperance, replying to Reito with a steep bow. "Doku-Kama, it is my own pleasure to greet you upon my house grounds. I am well enough. Let me guide you to the Great Hall- I think think the area for discussion more than suits it. 

Turning about, she would lead the procession into the palace itself. Event though it was rather small, to say that it was heavily furnished would be an understatement. The very floor seemed to glitter with the sheen of pristinely carved and polished tiles, forming mosaics and wrapping and winding about the walls like an unmoving serpent frozen into the walls themselves. The glow of kerosene lamps lit the way through the Noble Quarters as Palki led them mostly in silence, save for the clicks of her and her guards' talons against the floor. Walls streaming with ancient dialects of Elenrian languages long dead, corridors descending into twisting staircases, and the eyes of dozens of guards passed them by, only the rifles and military webbing seemingly the most modern-leaning out of all the rest.

As they entered the Great Hall itself, the monolithic statues of past Queens glared down at the occupants, their long spears ending in crescent moon blades of limestone, held up to their horns' length. A large table gave the group all the room they could desire as the Queen allowed the Director and Empress to be seated first at their own choosing, a large daybed reserved for Reito.

[Sophie]

Reito sat comfortably on the daybed and seemed to pay almost no attention to the scenery around her. "As much as I love empty platitudes and small talk, I would like to get to business immediately." She sighed and took a few more moments to collect exactly what she wanted to say. "I... I have been under-informed, about the situation in Elenria. The reports I had read until recently led me to believe everything here was fine. And I raised taxes under that assumption. I believed that our investments were paying off and that we were owed recompense for that. A report made its way to me. It wasn't meant for me but I saw it. It made me question everything I had heard about what was going on here. I wanted to get the truth from you. The full truth. Not the truth you think I want to hear. Not the truth you think you are obligated to tell me. The actual truth."

She felt awkward, she was very much not used to expressing shame and hoped she could do it right. "I want to right my wrongs and actually begin to make life better in Elenria, like my grandmother promised we would."

[StaolDerg]

Palki stared at the Empress in bewilderment, taken completely by surprise by both the presentation and directness of the question. She was well wary of the alternate possibilities of what she'd been asked- what were the chances that this was test about her loyalty? She skimmed over a low panic of thoughts, combing through what could've prompted the question. Had someone informed Empress Reito of her... outburst a month ago? In that moment of meeting Reito's eyes, she ran upon the possibilities- her own cabinet- had they taken the opportunity to conspire against her, in this time of painful weakness? Or...

Was the Empress serious? Did she genuinely mean her words? Her body language was...strange, to say the least, nigh impossible to read in what she could only assume was discomfort. She herself had only barely managed to retain her original body language, but that was falling as her shoulders sagged, slowly leaning back into her own seat. 

A slight nudge in the back of her mind finally pushed her to speak, the Queen wondering if the end of the month would see her crown shattered and Queendom desecrated. She grit her teeth, finally answering the Empress with a reluctant sigh. Better now than never, she decided, folding both hands together on her lap. Today I will speak for every drop of blood, sweat and tears- tomorrow either my tears will flow, or my blood. "Your Imperial Majesty..." she began hesitantly, "...where do you want me to start at? When we sent off the first levy? The first suppression of news to the outside world? When we began to force the taxes? I promise with my honor that anything I tell you will be with full truth in my name- I only ask that any and all responsibilities for failings reside with only myself."

[Sophie]

Reito's eye twitched as she felt that the queen began to speak down to her. "You watch your god damned tongue!" The Amalian shot her an angry glance that brought her back. "No. No, I'm sorry." She took a moment to collect her thoughts to phrase what she wanted to say. Her hands gripped the thighs of her forelegs for a solid minute before speaking again. "I don't want you to dredge up the past, Palki. I want to know what is going on now. I want to know what I can do today to make life better in Elenria."

[StaolDerg]

The Inselni stiffened at the shout, watching the Kumo very carefully. "Forgive me, Reito-kama. I did not mean to draw your ire." At the unexpected apology, Palki frowned, shaking her head slowly, lowering her gaze to her folded hands upon the table. "If you are different from your grandmother as you act as you are- different to all memory I hold of Kumosenkan's royalty in these eighty years- then so precious little is going right. We have another impending war with the Greatferns on the horizon, increased Royalist attacks in strength, and little industry to face our issues of underdevelopment. For what to help us- it must start with the taxes. We cannot afford to keep paying these tithes, your Imperial Majesty- the Greatferns refuse to pay them and our own people cannot pass a year without the threat of starvation above their heads."

[Sophie]

"I know." She nodded her head. "As of right now, the food levy is officially canceled. Any food produced in Elenria is no longer owed to Kumosenkan and should be used to feed Elenrians. As well as I will be instantiating an effort to bring relief to Elenrians who are still currently affected by famine." Reito held back her frustration with herself that anyone had been allowed to starve on her watch. "As far as the issue of underdevelopment I have a solution for that as well. Beginning immediately Elenria will be receiving the equivalent of 150 factories for the purposes of modernization. Finally, under the advisement of several of my ministers, Elenrians will no longer be subject to the special Elenrian tax, they will now be taxed at the same rate as Kumosenkan citizens on the island of Krelan. This includes corporate and sales tax."

[StaolDerg]

The reform was generous, luxurious even, compared to the standards that Elenria has faced nearly a century ago. 150 additional factories for development? That would give Elenria room for railroads, telephone lines, maybe even open up new industries to build cars and formally urbanize the country- The inselni's genuine surprise at the offer was impossible to conceal, her tired eyes lighting up with renewed hope. 

"That is beyond anything I could've hoped for in these last decades, Reito-kama," she replied, meeting the Empress' gaze. "And in turn it will deprive many Royalists with the reason to continue fighting. You have my unending gratitude. If there is anything you wish done, I only ask that you make it known so I may make it my duty to fulfill."

She said nothing of the reformists wishes, hoping to present them after the Empress made clear her own possible demands. This was testing the waters- if the Empress wanted them compliant, she would have ample room to argue for the removal of the Governor of Elenria's position. But if she wanted them quashed and arrested... that would be a different story completely. This was her first encounter with a third Empress after all, Reito's predecessor having only ruled from the Kumosenkan mainland. What were the chances she was loosening the reins on Elenria to simply jerk them back up at a moment's notice?