Returned Home, Good News in Hand

[callmedelta]

Luca sat at the brow of the ship, his foot tapping a constant staccato rhythm on the deck. They passed the mouth of the two bays two hours ago, Pareau should be in sight any moment now. The trip to Ashinara had been the moment of truth; now he was in the homecoming stretch. Valentino had, for better or worse, became the man who opened Ashinara to Franerre. Now it was time to make sure Franerre wanted that openness. He wouldn't be alone in that endeavor, thank God, as the first place the delegation would be reporting to would be the FFAA's offices, and by extension his boss, Mr. de Angelis. Perhaps the 2nd most respected man in the Kingdom, next to the King himself. Luca doubted that there would be any large opposition to Franerri-Ashinaran relations, but his words would most likely sway any against them. Luca's thoughts were interrupted as he squinted, catching sight of the port of Pareau in the distance. The time was upon them. Luca went below deck, informing the delegation of their immanent arrival. 

[aimway921]

Sarafim Tevpenko, the ambassador appointed by Tagomych, looked up from his book when Luca entered their cabin. "Excellent," he said. "Grygori," he addressed his assigned assistant, as he stood up. "Come, let's take a look at the place. And get the officers, I'm sure they'll want to take a look too."

As Sarafim followed Luca back onto the deck, Grygori knocked on the door of the neighboring cabin, calling General Kliment Lishenko and Colonel Maksim Mahno to come and join them on the deck.

[callmedelta]

Luca talked while leading the Ashinarans through the guts of the ship and onto the deck. "Pareau's a grand city. I don't know how much of a view you will get on the drive to the Administration's Office, but I know it will take you through the heart of Pareau and past this wonderful cafe. I will have to take you sometime, though it's a pretty small place. I don't know if it will fit everyone in the party if it has any other customers. We might have to go their for lunch tomorrow. Speaking of which-" it was just about at that point the group got back onto the deck, Luca looking at his wristwatch and checking the time. "-I think the port should be pretty quiet this time of day, which will make our entry pretty fast."

[aimway921]

"I hope so," General Lishenko said. "I can't wait to get off this boat and stand on ground that doesn't wobble under my feet." The poor man was visibly sea-sick.

"I personally can't wait to see your city," Sarafim said, as he joined Luca at the railing. Sarafim was unusually tall for an Ashinaran, towering above his kinmen at 5 foot 8. It was probably an incredible sight, when all the other foxes around a whole head lower than him. Colonel Mahno, being the lowest of the bunch at 5 foot 1, barely had the tip of his ears come up to Sarafim's chin.

This was probably why Sarafim was selected as Ashinara's representative - his height was considered somewhat average among humans - meaning he won't be looked down upon - at least physically. Weather that would be metaphorically - he was about to have the chance to prove himself.

[callmedelta]

As the boat pulled into port, the true scale of the city became apparent. Being a government vessel, their particular vessel had a reserved spot at the end of the docks. The docks was sprawling, with men working cranes and hauling boxes to an fro to load and unload cargo ships. The ship's crew pushed the plank down, the captain walking down halfway to meet with the manager of the crew of workmen who would be handling the Ashinaran's bags. As Luca had explained on the voyage, the Ashinaran party would be staying in buildings specifically maintained for foreign dignitaries such as themselves. They didn't get much use, but despite that they were well-furnished by Franerri standards. The explanation between the captain and the manager didn't take long, and soon enough everyone had cleared off for the assembled party to make their way down to the waiting cars of the Franerri Foreign Affairs Administration.

The car ride through Franerre was, similarly to the blessedly clear port landing, was not at peak hours. That wasn't to say, however, that the streets weren't busy. A mix of cars and horse drawn carts, the mix about a sixty-forty split, occupied the roads while the pedestrians out on their lunch occupied the sidewalks and courtyards. The particular neighborhood the party drove through was neither the oldest or most modern in the city. It was about 120 years old, still old enough to show it's age but not old enough to be ancient, either. The streets, thankfully, were wide, a show of the modernization of the region. The houses were wood, brick, and stone constructions, mostly small homes and stores with the occasional tall apartment building raising out of the skyline a few stories.

All in all, it took the party twenty minutes of travel by car to get to the headquarters of the FFAA.

[aimway921]

The Ashinarans certainly stood out like a sore thumb. Covered in fur, they were instantly recognizable, compared to all the humans around them. Furthermore, thanks to their fur covering, they had a natural resistance to cold, and as such we wearing light summer variants of their outfits, despite the autumn that was quite colder in the Franerri climate than it was back in Ashinara.

As they were driving to the FFAA headquarters, they noticed that while the city looked less industrialized than the two largest cities of Ashinara, they certainly seemed to have more cars driving around. Perhaps motorization was one of the things they would need to catch up on, compared to Franerre.

[callmedelta]

The convoy rolled to a stop in front of the FFAA building, many government workers walking to and fro on their lunch breaks. The headquarters itself was a sprawling building, if not necessarily tall at six stories, likely because of the building's age. It was a humble sixty-five years old, though it wasn't exactly modern for 1865. Leading the way inside, Luca strode up the large staircase in the entrance hall of the building up to the sixth floor. He stopped outside a door labeled 'Office of Director Lehran de Angelis,' a secretary out front with a sizable stack of papers on her desk. Where as most people in the FFAA's headquarters had given the Ashinarans an odd look, though certainly less so than the average Franerri on the street, the secretary just seemed almost too tired to care. She stood up, rubbed at her eyes, and poked her head in the door to get the attention of the Director. A few moments later, an older man with long black hair stepped outside and was shocked to see the group of Ashinarans now in his office.

[aimway921]

The four guests to this nation were a little taken aback by how casually the secretary behaved, not only in the presence of her superiors, but also in the presence of foreign dignitaries. Never the less, she was but a cover to the book - the book itself was now standing in front of them, and this book's name was de Angelis.

Sarafim and Grygori looked at eachother for a second, thinking if they should introduce themselves or let Luca do the honors.

"Good afternoon, Pan de Anhelis," Sarafim said in Commons, deciding to take the initiative after the staring contest became too awkward for him after 3 to 5 seconds. "I'm Sarafim te Tevpenko, appointed ambassador from Ashinara to Franerre. This here is my assistant, Grygori Makutin. Accompanying us as potential military attaches, should such terms be agreed upon with your King, are General Kliment te Lishenko and Colonel Maxim de Mahno." As he introduced each member of the delegation, they have nodded their heads, touching the brims of their hats. "I believe Pan Valentino here has quite a success story to share with you."

[callmedelta]

de Angelis looked at Luca, then to the assembled party. Taking a deep breath, Lehran stood up straighter as he opened the door to his office wide. "Come on in, we will have plenty to discuss." Inside, Lehran's office was seemingly as old as the man himself. The Director himself sat behind an old oak desk with an unlit kerosene lamp atop it, though the light fixtures on the wall and window to the left of the desk suggested it was more a personal choice then a practical one. In front of the desk was four chairs, which Luca graciously allowed the Ashinarans to take, choosing to remain standing. Lining the right wall was a row of filing cabinets, which appeared to be slightly overflowing judging by the manila folders sitting on the floor in front of them. The left side of the office held a small bookshelf and a large map of Touli hanging on the wall, which seemed to have quite a few pins recently added to it all around the Union of South Touli. "If I seem tired, please forgive me," de Angelis said, "We have received some concerning reports coming out of our neighbors to the south, and as you can see it's left Joanna and I rather busy. Luca, if you may share this story of yours?" Luca dove into relaying what had happened in Ashinara to the Director, who seemed to grow more and more incredulous as the story was told. It would only take a look at the Ashinarans, and seeing that they didn't object to Luca's retelling of events, before Lehran seemed to really comprehend that was Luca was saying was true. After Luca had finished his explanation, the Director looked at the Ashinarans, seeing if they had anything to add.

[aimway921]

"We have come to serve as Ambassadors from our nation to yours," Sarafim concluded Luca's tale. And first order of business is to finalize the treaty Pan Valentino and our government have authored."

Sarafim then glanced at the map, noting the pins sticking out of the region that de Angelis has just mentioned. "But tell me more about this business to the South."

[callmedelta]

The Director chuckled. "That would be a bit of an issue. We've received plenty of reports, but verifying those reports for authenticity has proven quite the challenge. The only things I can say for certain are vague, but telling. For some reason, we're not sure yet, President Okeema of the Union of South Touli has started to massively increase the amount of gold they are extracting. To do so, he's begun encroaching on land some tribes' don't want be to encroached on and overworking people who don't want to be overworked. The exact scale of this situation hasn't been quantified yet, but if something doesn't change I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more extreme reports we've seen start to become reality."

"Returning to the current matters," Lehran said, "I would imagine the travel and cultural requirements would be rather easy to lift, and the military cooperation question would require the approval of the King and the Army. But tell me, what does Ashinara produce in any great quantity?" The man opened a drawer on his desk and withdrew a small notebook, dipping a pen in an inkwell on his desk. "Luca mentioned that you export resources to the Gaelians to fund your industrialization, but he didn't specify what those resources were."

[aimway921]

"Ashinara currently produces an excess of Rubber," Sarafim replied. "We can also offer a variety of foods - some natural, some processed - but I'm afraid we aren't at capacity to export other resources. That is something we're hoping will be remedied as a result of trading with Gaelia."

[callmedelta]

Lehran nodded. “Franerre makes a food surplus, but I believe we could certainly import rubber. If there’s nothing else, I believe I have a meeting with the King to schedule.”

~

And schedule that meeting Lehran did. The meeting was scheduled two days after the one with Lehran, during which the Ashinaran party was staying at the buildings next to the offices of the FFAA. While not quite as high quality as the hotel Luca and Jean-Paul had stayed in, the buildings were decent constructions, with electricity and running water. During that time, Luca was briefing the Ashinarans on proper etiquette. “The current King of Franerre is Dante Emil Soleil Della Rosa II, Sovereign of Franerre, Shield of Her People, Defender of the Foa Restoration and Mordred’s Revolution to use his full title. The Queen and Prince may also be present, but if they are I doubt they would be speaking. It would be above my station to use the King’s name, but as foreign dignitaries you have some leeway. It would be safest to stick to titles such as ‘Your Highness,’ but if you are to refer to him by name you must use the full title, which even then is likely to be seen as somewhat…” Luca searched for the right word, “Presumptuous. When first meeting the King I must get down on one knee as I am his subject, but as foreigners you do get leeway. If you wish to do one of your Ashinaran bows, I’m not sure how the King would see them. You are to speak only when spoken to. Since this meeting is meant to be kept quiet, the Director has informed me that this meeting is likely to be quiet small, thankfully, but he didn’t tell me who may be present.” Luca paused, rubbing his fingers together as he thought. “The last important thing you should be aware of. If the King asks you to kiss his scepter, that’s a sign of favor and it would be a grave insult to refuse it. If the King asks you to kiss his signet ring, that’s a sign of great favor and an even graver insult should you refuse. Any questions?”

[aimway921]

The last detail felt odd to the Ashinarans. To approach the Hetman any closer than the length of a sword in an outstretched arm was a grave sin, and yet here the Franerri King might allow them to get close enough to kiss a ring on his hand? Are they not worried about assassins at all? Oh well, such is the way of dealing with foreigners - you learn their culture as you go, and adapt to operate within it, even if it is drastically different to what you spent your whole life believing.

"Just one. How should we address your nobles, should any be present?"

[callmedelta]

"I doubt there will be any present - the only one I can think of would be Duke Isaac Dufour, in which case simply call him a duke." Without any further delays, the Ashinaran delegation was driven the short distance from the accommodations they'd been given to the Royal Palace. While they were a bit too small to be called 'sprawling,' the palace grounds were still the largest relatively open area in this entire quarter of the densely-packed city, only eclipsed in total area by the very recently opened Grand Park on the other side of the city. After a brief search by the Palace Guards, the Ashinaran party were let onto the grounds to view them firsthand. Granted, the group didn't have the most time to see the grounds, as the walk to the palace itself was very short. The building carried a venerable air to it, commanding respect. The portion of the castle the Ashinarans were let in was the original Old Palace, rather than the Lusatian and New Palace expansions. Despite the age, this portion of the palace still had touches of modernity, electric lights humming proudly along the walls.

The throne room was located in the far north of the second floor, placing it in the New Palace. The room was vast and tall, windows that went almost from the floor to the ceiling flanked by columns of marble. The ceiling was a large done, beautifully frescoed with a map of Franerre. At the end of the room sat King Dante Emil Soleil Della Rosa II, Sovereign of Franerre, Shield of Her People, Defender of the Foa Restoration and Mordred’s Revolution. To his left sat Queen Jadwiga on her throne, and to his right stood Director Lehran de Angelis of the Franerri Foreign Affairs Administration and Sylvain Gautier, Minister of Commerce and Prosperity. Luca walked forward to an appropriate distance before kneeling.