[CIR][CRD] Arrival of the Southern Envoy

[Alecsi]

The arrival of the envoy from the Union Australis was not quite as auspicious an occasion as Exarch Dou Siang, recently appointed chief diplomat of the union, had hoped or expected it to be. Nonetheless, he was careful to avoid eye contact and keep his head held high to both exude an aura of respect and dignity as he had been trained to do by the Caradian diplomatic team before his journey began. As he had understood it, at least, the Caradians were quite the experts on how to deal with states that were as zealous in their purposes as Jingdao, given their own religious fervour to their monarch. His entourage, which consisted of two Serfești agents as his own guard along with six ceremoniously dressed Caradian bound labourers, four of which held a large steel crate aloft on their shoulders and two of which were carrying two pieces of a large, fanciful table, had meanwhile asserted to themselves the procedure and tradition that their Caradian training had imparted upon them, moving in flawless lockstep together and staring straight ahead.

The whole procession moved carefully through the city of Daocheng, with the directions that the exarch had committed to memory, towards the building he had been informed that diplomats were to communicate with officials of the empire. As they reached the beautiful structure, the Serfești agents turned and stood to either side of the entrance, allowing the exarch and servants to proceed inside without guard.

Before walking in to be greeted and begin the meeting, the exarch pulled a small paper out of his pocket, carefully reading and rereading the list of points he was to make, as well as the list of items that the union had provided as tribute to the empire. The exarch then refolded the paper, straightened his carefully tailored suit, and proceeded into the building with the six servants following.

[Raz]

The head steward took notice of the strangers who approached him, they seemed to be cultured, prepared for a meeting and they showed restraint. But there was also a smell he could not interpret. Why did these men suddenly show up at the doorstep of the imperial palace? The head steward browsed through his agenda, there would be a delegation from the Young Wandering Society in half an hour, but no foreign state visits had been booked in. The exarch and his servants were quietly hushed into a waiting room, away from the central entrance of the palace.

"Serve them tea, and find out what their intentions are" were the orders of the head steward to the steward-assist before he left again.

As he walked back to the entrance it suddenly dawned to him what the smell was. "Dragons!" he said to himself, "just like the fellow from Ralgon".

Welcome!

[Alecsi]

The exarch was prepared for a rushed and slightly unusual welcome, compared to those he had normally received in the bureaucrat offices in the confederacy that he normally frequented. He quietly took a seat, the servants setting the table that they had been carrying up until this point down, the two pieces fitting together, as the other four calmly and carefully set the metal crate down on the table before all taking a seat. All seven visitors sit rigid in the seats, the exarch keeping his head level while the labourers stared downwards in a traditional Caradian sign of deference. The exarch whispered a quiet command to his servants, "Fii nemișcat și așteaptă*", before standing and bowing deeply. He then spoke, careful to keep his voice level and without necessary inflections:

"Much pleasure upon the venerable and honourable empire of the Jing. It is with the deepest of apologies that we could not book an appointment or send our message and tribute through letter, but the head of our Union has yet to place a great amount of trust upon traditional methods of sending post, and as such has elected to send me to greet the honourable Jing and provide tribute in person."

The exarch then, without turning his head, gives another order to his servants, "Ridicați-vă și înfruntați-vă noile stăpâni**", after which the servants stood and opened the crate, turning and retrieving four wrapped items in file before returning to a line with the final two closing the crate once more. The exarch then pulls a scrolled letter from a small parcel, and presents it to those present.

"Though I have been sent for preliminary contact, it is with a great amount of respect that Speaker Avingar Holstadt, head of our Union, has elected to send a personal letter which I am to present to the recipients of our delegation."

The letter, to those who see it, is a rather plain if austere scrolled parchment that reads as follows:

To the most honourable and venerable empire of the Jing,

I, Speaker Avingar Holstadt of the Ciric Confederacy and the Union Australis, wish to send amicable greetings on the behalf of the nations that I represent to a respectable state that I hope will, in future, become a staunch and most reliable friend to the Union.

I would like to send my deepest and most complete apologies that I could not come to your own Court myself, as I am currently indisposed with the formation of the Union that I write to you representing.

I would, first and foremost, be most honoured to present the following five items that we in the confederacy and duchy have elected to send to your most honourable Emperor:

1. First, I present five coffers filled with gold mined in the Vețula Hills of Caradia, and presented to you directly from the royal treasury.
2. Second, I present the Astrum Australis, a 1009.44 carat sapphire which was discovered by a confederate citizen and subsequently acquired by our government.
3. Third, I present a relief map of the Empire of Jingdao that was forged of Ferris Ordis by only the finest Minh artisans.
4. Fourth, I present the Heiwa, an artifact weapon used for ages in the community of Tsuki in our confederacy for executions, which we have edged with Ferris Fortis in preparation for its gifting to the Jing so that it may never lose its edge.
5. Fifth, I present the six bound labourers that I sent to accompany the exarch. They have been trained and disciplined in Caradia, and are the most obedient and willing servants I know.

It is with pleasure that I am gifted the opportunity to greet a nation with such a great love of harmony. Our contact is initiated on the basis of furthering this harmony, both within our nations as well as in the world as a whole. I believe that a long, staunch, and lasting friendship between our nations would build trust that would allow us to cooperate in trade and science. In accordance with this friendship we seek to establish, I have given a provisional order to give ships flying the Jingdaoese banner exception from the Southern Control Zone that we have recently established, so that the ships of your nation will not be tolled or denied.

I have sent our exarch, Dou Siang, who is the chief ambassador of our Union, to facilitate further contact between our nations.

I hope our gifts and wishes for friendship find you well.

In Friendship,

This letter is authorised by Speaker Holstadt, Speaker of the Confederacy and Head of the Union

*Be still and wait
**Arise and face your new masters

Thank you for the welcome.

[Raz]

Steward Wan Chidao took the scroll from the exarch. He appreciated the high quality of the parchment. As he began to read the letter, he appreciated the style of the author. The letter contained a list of tribute offered to the emperor. His long experience in service of the Imperial Stewardship meant that the steward did not have to take a calculator or a reference book to appraise the tribute. It was a good tribute and he would inform the emperor that the Ciric Confederacy seemed to be a cultured nation that had approached the Daocheng Palace in a courteous matter. The comments about the Southern Control Zone troubled him however. Wan called for a servant, and sent this servant to call an adviser of the Ministry of Stability. Behind thick closed oak doors, he showed the letter to the ministerial adviser. They discussed the contents, and the steward returned.

" Please inform your master that the tribute is accepted. We accept that you arrive here in good faith and look forward to good relations. However, the Jingdaoese Empire does not tolerate the established Southern Control Zone. The Tianchao Haijun does not need to receive permission from foreign nations to sail in international waters, nor do our merchants need to receive permission from any other entity than the Tianchao Haijing. The Jingdaoese Empire condemns the blockades by Los Liberados, by Elwynn and will also condemn any blockade of international waters by the Ciric Confederacy. We urge you to return to your home nation immediately, and bring these points to the attention of your master."

Steward Wan Chidao takes a small wooden box holding a tenth of a ric of tea from his desk and hands it to the exarch.

"Please take this box of fine imperial white tea as a gift."

[Alecsi]

The exarch was worried about this exact reaction. He and many of the leaders of the confederacy had been against the zone from the start, but the Caradians had insisted that the antarctic was the responsibility of the Union. Hopefully, he thought, this pressure from other nations would be enough to convince the Caradians to lessen or remove the zone entirely.

The exarch once again bowed deeply to the steward, accepting the gift.

"I thank you for the gift, and completely understand your concerns regarding the control zone. I will be sure to bring these concerns to the attention of the Union, as we certainly wish no ill will towards any other nations. I will return once I have had the opportunity to speak with the leaders of the Union, and hopefully I will bring news that we may agree is good.

Much pleasure upon you, and may order and harmony follow you."

The exarch then bowed one more time, and left the servants where they were, once they had helped move the table and crate out of the palace. The Serfești who had been left outside carried the crate and table and followed the exarch out of the empire, to return to the Union.