ARCHIVED: IC: The Auburn Festival

"No, no," Malachit said, waving off the offer. "You are most kind, though. Perhaps the Syrixians may receive theirs next?"

The third floor elevator made a ping sound as the light lit up. The metal doors opened. Out walked an old man in a suit and an old lady in a pink dress. The couple stepped off together, heads held high. The proud couple was ready. The old man had a rectangular, handsome sort of face, on which sat combed white hair. A thin mustache sat above his taut, smiling lips. His eyes burned like the electric lights on the floor, gazing at his surroundings as he turned his head left to right. The lady stroked her white bush of hair, rearranging her hat in the reflective metal of the elevator doors.

The granddaughter and a bulky man in a black suit were right behind the pair. Elsa was and felt fully like a teenager as she poked her head out the elevator doors and looked around. Not too shabby. The Baroque -- or whatever it was -- architecture reminded her of the Home Palace. But she was a zillion miles away in a land where they didn't even speak German. She looked at her grandparents. They had their backs turned to her, as they were heading towards a room on the floor.

A large, gentle hand patted the back of Elsa's bare shoulder. She turned; the suited man smiled. "Kommen Sie schon, Hoheit. Gehen wir." The girl gave a meek nod, forcing her lips to curl.

"Hmm, I haven't spoken any English in weeks." Franz grinned to his wife, Bella. "Suppose I'll need you to translate?"

"Maybe you can woo them with your French, honey. I hear it's in style again," shot back Bella, who planted a kiss on Franz's lips.

The double doors to 347 swung open. The fresh conditioned air blew out into the newcomers' faces. The Emperor and Empress seemed to waltz in on their quick feet; as old as they were they kept some of their youth in presentation. Empress wanted to laugh, but she held her smile still. "As long as we're married, we'll always be young," Franz had told her. They would enjoy everything, travel everywhere, meet everyone, together.

"Good day to you all," Franz hailed with sunshine in his voice. He saw a bunch of men and women, some young and some old, all dressed in formal wear. The top brass of all the world! He noted a man close to his own age, a fellow named Nursson. His advisers had told him to keep an eye out for him -- as apparently Syrixia was now Kannex's biggest ally. The Emperor did not know much. Nowadays politics bored him. Franz had played a major role in 1968, but after that the spotlight was dominated by two-cent politicians crying out for this and that specific issue, and the Emperor resigned himself to the background of national politics. The Chancellors of Kannex now made decisions -- like the current one, Jörg Henneburg, that good man. Franz spent his time organizing charities, visiting foreign places, reading, and keeping alive the national spirit. For the Monarchy fixed itself as the centerpiece of Kannexan national identity; Kannex was not truly founded until Kaiser Johann proclaimed the Reich.

"I am Franz, Emperor of Kannex. This is my dear wife, Empress Isabella. And this..." He ushered in Elsa, who hesitantly stepped forward. The sixteen year old wore a blue dress that exposed her bare shoulders and made her feel quite cold. It stretched down to her feet and sparkled of jewels. Her long brunette hair was held in a bun. Her youthful freckles could be seen as her light brown eyes scoured the room. "This is my granddaughter, Princess Elsa."

Sera got to her feet and bowed slightly "Your majesties, I am Princess Sera, acting Khan of the Imperial Military Khanate of the Kingdom of Wolfsea, then looking around to make the introduction more formal and to the rest of the assembled leaders "I apologise, I know many of you expected my brother but he is currently indisposed on personal matters..." indicating Shera "This is Grand Legate Goltah, my brother's trusted bodyguard and..." indicating Garvin "Elder Bors Garvin of the Frostmouth tribe, one of our more senior advisors." before continuing "I would like to present each of you with one of these..." Shera quickly produced a small ebony box with the Wolvesh seal inlaid in silver on the lid, inside was a small droplet of polished white stone that had a rainbowlike ephemeral shine "These are dragons tears, specially prepared pieces of Dragonstone cut by our master jewllers, we see the giving of dragonstone as giving a part of ourselves." she explained as Shera somehow had managed to fit enough in her side-bag for the assembled guests and was presenting them to the leaders.

"Ah, here are the Kannexans," Malachit said with a sneer. Antlerio shot him a look.
"It is nice to finally meet you, sir. I am Caledon Antlerio, Emperator of Nebula. This is Azurus Malachit, my predecessor."
"Ah, here are the Syrixians," Malachit said, "and since their gifts are so similar, perhaps we should give them together?"
"Yes," said Antlerio, "whatever you think works best."

"How very nice of you! Thank you." said Alfred as he received the dragonstone piece designated for the Syrixian delegation. Turning to Antlerio and Malachit, Alfred remarked "As for our gifts from Nebula, we would welcome them. I, for one, cannot wait to find out what they are." He was prepared to receive the Nebulan gift when suddenly the Kannexans came in. Alfred was the first to act following Franz's introduction. Franz was very close to his age, and he felt this would help lead to a lasting friendship that would exceed the boundaries of formalities and professionalism and mold into a true friendship, one that would mold history as well.

Alfred opened his mouth to speak. He wanted dearly to introduce himself to the Kaiser. "How very nice to meet you, your Majesty. It is good that we finally cross paths considering the strength of the alliance between the Reich and the Most Serene Republic. I am Prime Minister Alfred Nursson, Head of Government of the Most Serene Republic of Syrixia. With me are Shaw Atlas, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Culture; Auel Vist, Minister of Defense; and John Sirus, who is both my Deputy Prime Minister as well as my Prime-Ministerial predecessor." Producing a specially engraved mahogany pipe gilded with diamond instead of gold, he inquired, "Want a pipe?"

Malachit opened two more sections of the case, marked with the Syrixian and Kannexan coats of arms. He reached in and pulled out four teardrops of glass with colorful material embedded within, forming in the case of two a bright yellow hammer-and-sickle (not the usual insignia, but a lesser-known variant) on a reddish background, and on the case of the other two an eye on a purple background.
"Quite dangerous," he remarked cheerfully. "I advise you not to break these open. The red is americium sesquioxide, the yellow uranyl nitrate, the purple plutonium trifluoride, and the black uranium dioxide. All quite radioactive; fortunately the glass is leaded. And the amount needed to provide the color is just a very thin layer. All in all it's safe; there's a layer of acrylic that makes them shatterproof, so as long as you don't drop them off a building or attack then with a hammer they should be good. And they have tiny glass loops, so you can string them onto a necklace or bracelet." He proffered them.

"Of course they'd make us a hammer and sickle." Nursson thought to himself grumpily yet also laughily as he accepted the gift. Of course, he only showed the laughing side, proceeding to thank the Nebulans for their gift.

Malachit saw Nursson's smile waver slightly, and grinned inwardly. The gift had been intended to alienate the Syrixians and Kannexans, and it had been quite successful in its endeavor.

The Kaiser grabbed at something behind his back and retrieved something large, metal and shiny. A handgun. He held up the Nebulans' gift to the light and pointed it at the thing. On the other side of the handgun were the two Nebulans. "It's radioactive, you say?"

"What in the-" said the Prime Minister, before rushing in to stop the Kaiser. "Your Majesty, the war is over! If you shoot that thing you'll kill us all here in this elevator!" he said, with a frantic expression on his face.

The Kannexan bodyguard stepped in to block Nurrson, his hulk of a body bumping the old man back. The Kaiser laughed. He glanced to Nurrson and Malachit. Then he pulled the trigger, directly at the necklace. The gun did not fire. "Empty, see?" He went over and slapped Malachit in the back. "I have Kannexan beer for everyone; you'll get them later."

"I hope you realized that now we're all going to die slow and painful deaths due to the radioactivity you just released. Ms. Kray, stop the elevator, and, everyone, cover your mouths!" said the Prime Minister. Soon after, every Syrixian covered their mouths.

Sera raised an eyebrow "Mr Nursson, the gun didn't go off..." then carefully examined the gun "an impressive piece, your gunsmith is quite an artist your majesty." she smiled.

"Thank you, Your Highness," smiled Kaiser Franz. "How is your brother, may I ask? I have not heard of him in a long time."

Sera's smile grew "He is well enough, we've respected his privacy while he is on leave, after all he's spent the past five years practically tethered to the throne, I'm glad we finally were able to get him to take a break." chuckling softly "He, Andrea and Selene are all doing well, he should be back in the next month or two."

Lara stood empty-faced, the petty chatter was boring her. Her eyes brightened up when the elevator doors opened up to show an entirely white room with windows on the left, right and back sides of the room, obviously avoiding the elevator, and a large, black vertical fountain in the center of the room, a waterfall of sorts. It was a large black rectangle with nothing filling in the center besides water running down vertically, creating a calming noise of water flowing and large, long strip-lights also adorned the left and right side of the fountain structure to filled the room with light during nighttime, it was but 5PM though. On the wall opposite the elevator was an imposing door that consisted of both tinted glass and metal, with a small codepad to the right of it, 4-digits required.
"Welcome to mine and Ulurq's home, it's a pleasure to introduce you here. We'll be heading to the Conference Room of our quaint abode." Lara announced as she tightly squeezed through the 10 or so people squished inside the small elevator. Lara quietened down a bit as everyone began to flood into the lobby, she sung to herself with a whisper,
"All I- All I need is, need is..."

The Guslant delegation, arriving later than once assumed, had Abigail very nervous. She was never late to things. "Where is everyone?!", she asked, looking around, red in the face from blushing. "Leah asked these to be delivered promptly, and I've already failed on prompt. Akerman, do you remember everyone's name from the video?" asked Abigail to Akerman. "Yes. You have Alfredo Nierson from Syrixia and Emperor Malloshit from Nebula," Akerman said, smiling. Abigail placed her head in her palm. She knew Akerman was bad with diplomats, but not this bad. Why did Leah ask Akerman to be a diplomat? "Where is everyone? I have to go tinkle," said Debra, with sass. "I will find them...," said Abigail, keeping her composure as she looked around for a sign of familiar diplomats.

"Perhaps the Wolvesh representative would like to receive their gift next?"

Sera nodded "We would be pleased to do so Imperator." slowly approaching the Nebulan contingent.

Malachit opened yet another compartment on the case, marked with the Wolvesh coat of arms. He reached in and pulled out...
...a pistol. But not just any pistol, of course. The weapon resembled a flintlock, but colored with gold and copper. The Wolvesh coat of arms was stamped into the handle.
"Very thin gold and copper layer, over a thin layer of titanium, over a beryllium body. As such, it is very lightweight. The handle has room for several bullets, and can be folded in. The ammunition is inserted through this chamber on the underside of the weapon." He handed her the pistol.

Sera smiled, carefully examining the pistol "It's magnificent, I thank you Imperator." handing the pistol to Shera to place it in a lockbox they had brought.

"So, I think it's time to give out my gifts!" Said Zertan while taking something out of a black bag. "My gifts are not as good as the Nebulan's gifts, but I think you will enjoy them as much as we Seblandish do." He took out boxes full of the best Seblandish tea. "There are many different flavours! My favourite is the lavander one! It releases stress and helps when you have sleeping problems, it also smells very nice! All of them are good for you!" He said whilst passing out the boxes. The boxes were out of oak, the edges were out of some sort of metal and each country had their flag curved in the middle. "I hope you like them!" He said with a smile.

"Oh, my," said Antlerio, "these are really quite nice, King Zertan. Perhaps you would like to receive your gift next?"

The Xentheridans were about to join the rest up at Floor 347. They were currently in the capagacious elevator that would take them to Floor 347, waiting patiently to arrive. Multiple conversations had started, and some were glancing at the trolley laden with gifts.

They were almost there. Floor 340... 341... 342. Climbing rapidly, yet steadily, they reached Floor 347 within minutes of first boarding the elevator. Once the doors opened, the group exited the elevator and made their way towards the other delegations. In under a minute, they had managed to navigate their way to the group of delegations. Once within sight, Christian called out a cheery greeting; "Hello to you all on this fine day. How is everyone?"

-

"King Christian! How very nice to see you!" remarked Nursson, who walked over to the King to greet him with the customary handshake.

After a long yet utterly pointless discussion with the airport manager, Guðjónsson and Sæfinnsdóttir finally made it inside the Kray Towers. He saw someone who looked like he knew what he was doing and asked him where the delegates were meeting.

"Floor 347, sir."

The two made their way to the elevator and pressed the button for the three hundred and fourty-seventh floor. The elevator ride was very smooth, but after a few minutes of letting his mind wander he looked up to see what floor they were on.

14.

Guðjónsson sighed. It was going to be a long ride.

"Good day, King Christian," said Antlerio, before turning back to Zertan.

Meanwhile, near the street, Chester had his hand in his wavy, blonde hair and was twirling it a little as he thought about his reign over the nation, The Fall of Kray it was called. It was embarrassing, demeaning and had soiled his name into the ground in front of the whole nation simply because he, the last government official after the Smithworks Incident, was entrusted to rule a nation that was falling apart from the inside-out single handedly, it was ridiculous to even think of it working without a hitch. Damned commoners, they knew nothing of Chester's struggles and what he'd tried to do for Cronaal during it's time of need and terror. He sighed heavily, some steam being visible in the cold air.

He could see the Guslants in the distance, they'd missed Lara and the other delegates. Chester began to jog over to them, lightly to not tire his unfit body, and waved a little as he got closer.

"Hello king Christian! I brought you a gift from True Sebland." Said Zertan passing him a box. "Seblandish tea it is! The best tea in The North Pacific in my opinion!" He continued. "Every flavour you can think of" He said with a smile.
He turned back to Antlerio. "Sorry I interrupted you"

"No, no, perfectly all right," Malachit said, reaching for the case and opening another part. He pulled out a cylindrical mass of bubble wrap and other packaging, which he then slowly unraveled to reveal...
...a glass, 3D model of the Seblandian coat of arms, with colored crystals packed into glass tubes and blobs to form the shapes.
"The blue crystals are tetraaminecopper sulfate, and the yellow are iron trichloride. The blobs were carefully etched to form the shapes of the coat of arms. I'll wrap it back up for you." He folded the bubble wrap around it and handed it to Zertan. "

Zertan was amazed. "Thank you very much!" He unwrapped the gift again. "It is beautiful! Really!" He wrapped it back up and carried on talking to the Nebulans. "By the way the lobby is amazing isn't it. Especially the fountain."

"Mmm. Delicious." muttered Christian as he took hold of the tea. Once the Seblandian king had finished his conversation, then he would recieve his gift; a spiral tube filled with glowing, bright light blue liquid known as luminol.
In the mean time, Christian warmly accepted Alfred's handshake. "It's great to see you. May I introduce my wife, Mia, and our lovely daughter, Elizabeth?" he said while motioning the two forward.
While this was happening, Adam picked up Syrixia's gift; a small, three-inch sphere of clear acrylic with a bright blue litchenberg figure - also known as trapped lightning - inside. Extracting the sphere from the bag, he then reappeared at Christian's side. "Alfred, great to see you. We got you a gift!" Adam said, holding the litchenberg figure in his right hand, while gesturing with his left.

"How wonderful!" Alfred said. "Here, take this. Syrixia brought two gifts, one batch each. We're giving the other ones later, but for now, have this." Alfred produced two of the gold-gilded mahogany pipes from his pocket and handed one to Adam, handing the other to Christian.

"Delightful." replied Christian. "However, I'll only be filling it with bubble liquid, since tobacco is illegal in ol' Xen."
At that time, Mia and Elizabeth appeared beside Christian. "Ah, here they are. Alfred, meet Mia and Elizabeth."
While this was happening, the other Xentheridan delegates were striking up conversations with other delegates.

Guðjónsson looked up at the display at the top of the elevator. 345...
346...
347.
The elevator slowed to a halt, and the metallic silver doors opened. Guðjónsson and Sæfinnsdóttir stepped outside to meet the rest of the delegates.

"Hello, King Christian. Would you like to receive your gift next?

As Mia and Elizabeth took over the conversation with Alfred Nursson, Christian turned towards the Nebulan party. "Why, yes, I would like to receive my gift. In fact, we have a gift for you, too!" he said as he began to rummage through the trolley of gifts.

Meanwhile, Adam trod through the throng of delegates to get to the Hiskjriaanian party, who had just arrived. As they stepped outside the elevator, Adam greeted them both. "Good day to you both. May I introduce myself as Adam Reitano, the current Prime Minister of Xentherida. What might your names be, and how are you today?"

Malachit opened the Xentheridan portion of the case and pulled out another mass of wrapping. He unraveled it to reveal a convoluted mass of small sealed glass tubes in the shape of a rectangular prism. Tiny wires could be seen running down the sides, connecting to the ends of each tube and hooking up to one long cord, which Malachit plugged into the wall. He flicked a switch...
...color blazed. The tubes glowed brightly, giving the appearance of the Xentheridan flag.
"Dark blue is oxygen, lighter blue is xenon," Malachit said, "red is neon, yellow sodium vapor, orange helium, green krypton, purple argon. Do try not to break it." He turned it off, unplugged it, wrapped it up, and handed it to the king.

"Didn't intend to." Christian joked as he straightened up to give his gift, and receive the Nebulan one. While he took hold of the prism, he held out Xentherida's gift; a small piece of acrylic with a blank LCD screen inside. As Christian, after putting the Nebulan gift inside the section of the trolley designated for gifts given to Xentherida, unwrapped it from its clear bubble-wrap packaging and took it in his hand, it began to light up. The screen showed the coat of arms of Port Florrania and Andromedazite, with the Nebulan and Xentheridan flags above the two. "It has a light receptor in the back." Christian explained. "Once it detects no light - either by covering it up while holding it, or during the night - the screen lights up. It is also self-sufficient; on the top, you can see some solar panels. It works well, especially with the set of energy-efficient LEDs were produced, although it may need a top-up once in a while. If it ever dies on you, just leave it in the sun for a bit, or charge it up using this plug, and the small socket at the back; next to the receptor."

After a brief silence, he added, "So, what do you think?"