A Chance Meeting (Ashinara/Franerre)

[callmedelta]

Luca Valentino strolled through the World Culinary Fair grounds, just taking it all in. The smells, the sights, the blending of different races, peoples, cultures, accents, the whole cultural tide washing over the man as he walked. Valentino was the Franerri ambassador to Roskana, and while he had served at Franerre’s stand all of yesterday, today it was his partner from the Ministry of Commerce and Prosperity’s turn. That finally gave Luca time to slow down and take it all in. Traveling the world, seeing the different sights and peoples of Ourhi, that was one of the key reasons why he became a diplomat. Of course, diplomacy had involved much more staying in one country and filling out paperwork than Luca preferred, but it beat staying in Franerre.

Franerre wasn’t a bad country, mind you. Luca loved her dearly, and wouldn’t be serving her if he didn’t. But there was more to the world than Franerre, and Luca wanted to experience as much of it as he could. As another wave of scents washed over him, some sort of roasted meat that Luca couldn’t place the source of in the crowd of foods, his stomach growled. Sadly, Valentino had to be rather picky about how he ate. It would be physically impossible for one man to try every dish on offer here at the Fair, or else Luca would have simply sat down at the first one he came across and ordered one of everything.

As Luca continued to stroll, he came across a most unusual sight. A man with fur, wearing puffed up blue pants and a white shirt, a bright red belt around his waist. He wore red boots, the same color as the belt, as well as a grey fur hat with a tail that same red completing the outfit, standing in front of a table. The fact that he wasn’t human wasn’t what made the sight unusual, as Luca had seen or heard of many different species during his training, and his Roskanan hosts themselves weren’t even human. But the fact that the diplomat couldn’t place this specific species or his dress both irked Luca and picqued his curiosity. If he could just find a flag of some sort perhaps that could help - Luca had an interest in vexoligy and was much better at remembering flags anyway - but he couldn’t quite see one from where he stood outside. So, Luca strode closer to the table.

[aimway921]

Afanasim Tatarchuk was having the time of his life. Representing his nation's culture on an international cultural fair was a tremendous honor to him, and it was a responsibility he enjoyed carrying out. He had already shared some tidbits of the culture with several people who stopped by to buy the food from his table, and in the downtime of not talking to anyone, he was singing folk songs of his homeland.

But now his sharp eye has noticed a man peculiarly examining him and his stand, before building up the courage to approach. Afanasim smirked barely noticeably - another took the bait of the highly expressive culture of Ashinara.

With an open armed gesture, he invited the man to come closer. As he would approach, he would be able to see the flag hanged inside the tent covering the table and more fox people, two female and one male, behind it, with shade. The flag represented the yellow sun, with it's rays, against a blue sky, with a blue Trident in the center. This was the flag of the Ashinara Hetmanate, as small island nation just off the coast of Touli.

[callmedelta]

As Luca caught the distinctive blue and yellow rays of the Ashinaran flag, the gears in his head began to whir. Ashinara? Here? They had been a footnote in his studies, an isolationist archipelago off the coast of Elenria that had rebuffed all attempts at diplomacy. What were they doing here? Were they private citizens, or something more? He had to figure out more.

Luca strode forward towards the man. “If I’m not mistaken, this would be an Ashinaran exhibition, yes? My name is Luca Valentino, the Franerri ambassador here in Roskana.” ‘No reason not to show my hand early,’ Luca thought as he strode into the tent, thankful for the shade. Inside were more people of the same species in a similar garb to the man outside. It was an interesting outfit to be sure, but clothes could wait for later. Now, Luca had questions.

[aimway921]

In a flamboyant motion, Afanasim took of his hat, with a wide arch of his hand brought it to his heart as he bowed down.

"A pleasure it is indeed to meet, Pan Luca" Afanasim said cheerfully. "I'm Afanasim Tatarchuk," he continued, as he came back to an upright position and put his hat back on, "here to represent my home. Your observation is absolutely correct, we are indeed Ashinarans. Oh how far from home our dear Hetman sent us, I would not have dreamed it up even in the wildest fantasies, that I would ever be so far."

Afanasim was simply glowing with cheerfulness, speaking charismatically with intonation, inviting Luca to come closer to the table. He himself picked up a wooden mug painted white with red and black decorations on the outside, and poured a dark beer-like drink from a clay jug.
"Please, do try, the best Kvas we have to offer, brewed following the ancient secret recipe of St. Myhaylo's Monastery. Of course, sadly it's non-alcoholic - you know the monks, 'drinking is sin' an all that," he let out a little laugh. "But it's compensated by being the most delicious Kvas I've ever tried."

[callmedelta]

‘The Hetman himself sent them?’ Luca thought ashe walked closer to the table, the talk bringing what he knew of Ashinara to the surface. Even then, it wasn’t much, but he knew the Hetman meant this was officially sanctioned by the state. That was one question answered at least. Luca took the offered Kvas, though he didn’t take a drink of it quite yet. “I should be glad it’s not alcoholic,” Luca said, “If it’s anything like it Franerri wines, they can get you drink rather quick if you don’t moderate yourself and it’s a bit too early for that. Though I’m not quite sure how well your Ashinarans tolerate alcohol.”

Valentino took a sip of the Kvas, not expecting the carbonation as it danced across his tongue. It wasn’t quite to his taste, but he could see why Afanasim liked it. ”I can’t say I’ve ever had the joy of trying any Ashinaran food or drink, despite its proximity to Franerre,” Luca said, placing his mug back down on the table and cutting right to the chase, “You’d think that with only a few hundred miles of ocean between them, Ashinara and Franerre would have had more contact. Despite that, every attempt at diplomacy has been turned around. Yet now I find myself in an Ashinaran tent in Auran.” Luca took another sip of the Kvas, letting his words sit in the air.

[aimway921]

"Ha!" Afanasim proclaimed in response to Luca's talk of wine and alcohol tolerance. "You must never have tried our Horilka! I swear on my late ma's grave, I can take you on in a drinking contest!" Cheerful as ever, Afanasim poured some Kvas for himself and took a large gulp.

"Ah, that. Well, see, for the last, what... 150 years? Certainly longer than I had the pleasure to enjoy the warm sun, the last 3 Hetmans have chosen to isolate the nation from the world to keep out conflict that has been brewing in the world back then. 'Moya hata z krayu, nichoho ne znayu' - 'My hut is on the village edge, I know nothing', as one of our sayings go.

About 60 years ago, after we witnessed what happened to Elenria, we've opened up limited trade with Koi to buy Staol, starting our industrialization in the 1870's. Now, for reasons I'll honestly not going to be able to know for I personally don't know, the Hetman has decided to bring the nation out of isolation and enter the world stage once again."

[callmedelta]

Luca nodded along to the Ashinaran’s words, taking more sips of the Kvas along the way. It was growing on him somewhat, or that could have just been his hidden excitement over Afanasim’s words. “I’d say your Hetman is an astute man,” Luca said after the furred man had finished, “The game of geopolitics is not kind to the weak or those who lag behind.” Luca looked around the tent, the only others inside the remaining Ashinarans, thankfully. “Us from Touli know that lesson all too well, I’m afraid. This may be rather forward, but would your Hetman be open to relations with Franerre? You can’t have known this, given your isolation, but one of our foreign minister’s goals is to have an embassy in every capital of Ourhi. We haven’t quite gotten that far,” Luca chuckled, “But I’m sure Lehran would be joyed to add…” the name of Ashinara’s capital escaped him “…Ashinara’s to that list.”

Luca hoped he wasn’t being too forward with what he was saying, but it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. The information that Ashinara alone would make up for any potential faux pas, not to mention the economic inroads that could be made. The possibility of even a military alliance briefly crossed Luca’s mind, but he had to be realistic. “Do you know of anyone here in Auran that would have the authority to talk on matters such as that? We could continue the discussion here, at Franerre’s exposition, or in the privacy of our embassy here.”

[aimway921]

Afanasim's extremely cheerful deposition seemed to have faded as he listened to Luca, at one point even reach over with his hand to scratch the back of his head, in the process skewing his hat a little to the front.

"Yeah, that is where you're not wrong. After all, it is the downfall of Elenria that motivated our Hetman to do something about it.

Now, I'm afraid I can't do that much in terms of creating agreements. I might be a diplomat, but a rather low-ranking one... For now at least, I'm hoping for a promotion soon."

Afanasim then smiled. "What I can do, however, is have you write a letter of proposal to open relations, and bring that to my Hetman once I return from this trip. That is, after all, my purpose here - seek for foreign relations opportunities."

[callmedelta]

“Consider your purpose fulfilled!” Luca exclaimed, unable to hide the wide smile on his face and the excitement in his voice even if he wanted to. It was a bit jarring from his cool demeanor before, but Luca couldn’t hold it in any longer. Valentino extended a hand to Afanasim. “I’ll have a telegram to write back to Pareau, but I already know I’ll receive good news back. Until then, should we continue dining here? Or would you like to sample some of Franerre’s dining? I’ll leave the decision for you.”

[aimway921]

"Why not a little of both?" Afanasim replied, his cheerfulness returning to him.

He handed Luca a wide bit shallow handcrafted wooden bowl.

"You will find food to fit any taste. Potatoes, boiled and topped with dill and oil. Sausages, Kovbasa, pretty much any mead dish you can think of when it comes to pork. Oh, and don't pass up the opportunity to try the Salo. Or perhaps you'd like some dumplings? We have Varenyki with meat, potatoes and mushrooms, cabbage and mushrooms, or perhaps you'd rather have sweet dumplings, then we have Varenyki with cheese or cherries?"

[callmedelta]

Luca looked at the foods at Afanasim listed them off, his stomach growling. He started with a few Varenyki, one with meat, one with potatoes and mushrooms, one with cheese, and a Kovbasa. After looking at his bowl, taking a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship, Valentino went back around for a potato as well. It was a bit larger of a meal than he usually ate, but he was hungrier than normal. Perhaps it was the good deal, perhaps the good food. Probably both. The growling of his stomach reminded him that such deliberations could come second to actually eating. Luca walked further into the tent and took a seat at a table with a bench on either side, setting his plate and mug of Kvas down.

Luca started the meal with a potato. It was such a hardy thing, able to be grown most anywhere, he was curious to see what kind of spin the Ashinarans had put on it. The potato itself tasted like most any you could find across Ourhi, but the particular choice of spices on it...Valentino couldn't place them, but he definitely hadn't tasted them on a potato before. It tasted good, though that could be due to some of the taste being lost since the potato was so hot. The 'good' got upgraded to 'great' when the second, cooler bite entered his mouth and he could get the full range of flavors the spice brought to the table.

[aimway921]

Afanasim took some food for himself as well and sat at the table with Luca. Eating, telling anecdotes and stories from Ashinara, Luca would feel immersed in Ashinara's culture, if only while within the little tent.

After the fair, Afanasim would seek out Luca, bidding him farewell, hoping to see him once more in the future.

2 months later, after Afanasim's return to his homeland, the Hetmanate's government has, for the first time, approved Franerre's request for a diplomatic meeting. The Franch government would be sent an invitation for a diplomatic mission to Kyograd.

[callmedelta]

Luca Valentino looked upon the approaching landmass from the bow of the ship with some mixed emotions. He was excited, no doubt. The possibilities for what could happen in Ashinara were endless, and even just the idea of exploring a as-of-yet completely unknown culture had a small part of his mind wanting to leap off the bow and swim for Ashinara to get there faster, no matter how illogical it was. Of course, another part of his mind was sad to leave Roskana. His predecessor, an older man named Alphonse, had retired after suffering a heart attack four months before the Culinary Fair. Just when Luca had been making contacts and inroads in Roskana, here he was in Ashinara. That part of his mind may have been only a little bit larger than the one that told him to jump of the bow of the ship, but it had a further reaching effect than it should have.

Luca's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Emilie. On paper, she was his personal secretary. In practice, the only reason he hadn't tied the knot and married her was because she'd wanted a traditional Franerri wedding and those were rather hard to come by in Roskana. They'd be equally as hard to come by in Ashinara, too, but at least Emelie was nearly excited as Luca to be here. The pair made small talk as the boat moved further towards the Ashinaran capital of Kyograd, further towards a new adventure.

[aimway921]

As the ship approached the shoreline, it would become progressively more and more surrounded by the city built on the crescent-shaped shoreline. The Kyograd Bay was the deepest part of the Virpen Basin, allowing Ashinara to have a number of large ports well protected from the open ocean. And even then, the crescent shaped shore here seemed to have it's prongs stick out of the wider base of the Basin, creating a harbor within a harbor, and culminating in the middle of the crescent with a tall mountain. As the Franch ship got close enough to see the waterfront buildings, they would see that a large portion were actually raised up from the shoreline by tall floodwalls - with numerous breaks in the walls, containing roads and staircases leading down to extensive port facilities, as well as a few beaches here and there. The tall 5-6 floor buildings that dominated the scene gave a hint of the high population density in the city. Rows upon rows of townhouses sprawled up the crescent mountains, curving and going straight, becoming lower or taller, at times even overhanging on gigantic drops from cliffs, until culminating at the top with the huge Royal Palace. But another noticeable thing was how green the city was - at least in those areas visible from the ship, where the view is not covered by buildings - trees lined almost every street.

Finally, as the ship had docked and the Franch party stepped down on the dock, they'd be met by 3 people. They were dressed in baggy blue uniforms, with tall grayish-white felt hats that had blue tops. All had swords at their sides, and handgun holsters on the other side. The middle fox approached the Franchmen, and in a motion very similar to how Afanasim first greeted Luca, took of his hat and bowed.

"Welcome to the great Ashinaran nation!" he said, quite cheerfully. "I'm sure you're tired after the long trip. But not to worry, for we have prepared all the necessary accommodations for you. My name is Mykola Pidkarenko, Horunzhiy (Senior Lieutenant) of Hetman's 1st Regiment. We shall be your security escort guides for your stay in the city."

[callmedelta]

Luca gazed upon the city of Kyograd as it drew closer to view. He was shocked by what he saw. It looked so…modern. It was no Auran or Kazimierzgrad, but it looked comparable to Pareau. And that was by a nation that had only been trading with Koi for the past sixty or seventy years according to Franerre’s knowledge. A nation that hadn’t gone through the hardships of colonialism, not benefitting from the silver lining of progress nations like Lusatia or Ulster-Gaelia brought. Sparing a glance to Emilie, she was similarly impressed. Valentino wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting, perhaps something closer to what he’d seen on his trip to the Yaiji Empire, but it wasn’t this.

His brain was excited at the thought. A nation on par with Franerre, willing to trade and discuss issues on an equal footing. One that Franerre could export arms to, assisting them in modernizing their military, perhaps Franerre learning a thing or two in exchange. That would be more of Jean-Paul’s area of expertise, but the unlucky army man had caught a cold their first day at sea and being out on the deck would only slow down his recovery.

As the boat slowed to a halt in the harbor and the ramp rolled up to the side of the boat, Jean-Paul came up from below deck. His skin was a bit paler than when Luca had first set out, but he otherwise looked healthy. When Jean-Paul caught up to him, the pair descended down the ramp towards the Ashinarans. Emilie stayed up on the bow of the boat of the time being, watching them. After Mykola had introduced himself, both Luca and Jean-Paul bowed, though they didn’t have a hat to tip over the former’s black and the latter’s blonde hair. Jean-Paul’s eyes went towards the weapons on each man’s side. It wasn’t a look of concern, as Jean-Paul had no reason to be concerned, but Luca couldn’t quite place exactly what the Major wore on his face.

“My name is Luca Valentino,” the diplomat said, “And I thank you for the escort, Horunziy.” He didn’t quite pronounce the word right, but right after Luca finished speaking Jean-Paul began.

“My name is Jean-Paul, Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Bromsole Battalion. Army officers like myself are rarely sent on diplomatic missions like this.” Jean-Paul let the words hand in the air for just a moment before continuing. “And since you have asked, I am rather tired. Why don’t we move onto our accommodations? I’m sure we can continue the conversation along the way.”