Annual Beltane Celebration in Kalti

Ziska pivoted to the Goyanean Prime Minister, shaking her head at the syrupy poison. Even now, the appearance of Jaktmester made her stomach turn. Still, she couldn't help but smirk at Norberg's random display. "Damn, Jon, are you drinking tonight or what?"

Norberg looked at Ziska, already on his 5th shot. "Hey... you wanna have summa 'dis good stuff right here?"

Norberg handed her an entire bottle of Jaktmester, before getting up and stumbling to the bathroom.

"Grace, two of the best ways to relax in Kalti are to either drink or to try some of the local marijuana. I have no idea if you've ever tried it before but if you are up for feeling adventurous, the festival will have quite a lot of weed on hand so it should be easy to scrounge some up. However, if you want to try some today, I can make a call over to the nearby MindFul Living store nearby; they are one of the larger company chains in the League that sells both recreational and medicinal marijuana along with focusing quite heavily on promoting healthy lifestyles and holistic natural medicines. Their top three strains at the moment are Rosy Dream (happy/relaxed), Bayside Fire (energetic/uplifted) and Foggy Mountain (relaxed/euphoric). I can give them a call and have them deliver here to the hotel; just let me know what you want to do."

Seeing a few other world leaders had joined them in the bar, Kari turned her attention back to the two monarchs, "com licença, Suas Majestades, I want to go and greet some newcomers to the bar."

Kari turned her attention to Ziska and noticed that she was trying the Cileni, "so how are you enjoying one of our local liquors?"

Ziska grimaced and quickly slid the Jaktmester bottle away with a dismissive, "Ugh… Fusel¹!" She took a long drink of Cileni in defiance of the staggering leader's poor taste in alcohol.

She turned to Kari. "Oh, I'm enjoying it quite well, thank you. It's a great start to what should be a lovely time here."

---

¹ The Mercanti colloquial equivalent would be "rot-gut."

Though both Kari and Grace accidentally referred to her as "Your Highness," Claidie kept a smile on her face, choosing only to encourage them to forego the formalities.

"Please, just Claidie," she said to the pair. "Kari, I do thank you and the League for all you've done to support the humanitarian mission. It's nice to make a positive difference in today's world. And Grace, You'll be alright. Being at the forefront can be intimidating, and there will certainly be days you just want to hide under the covers. But it'll soon sink in how much of a difference you can make, and you might enjoy it."

Hearing Kari's wish to greet the newcomers, Claidie followed along.

"Yeah, let's go introduce ourselves. And then maybe we can go on that car ride?" she said with a sly grin on her face. She waved to Ziska and Norberg while Kari was asking Ziska about the liquor.

Upon Norberg's return from the men's room, he encountered Ziska looking at his bottle of Jaktmester in disgust. He walked over to her and said, "It's ok... not all of us can enjoy some of Goyanes' strongest liquors."

He saw Princess Claidie of Sil Dorsett waving at him from about 50 feet away. Norberg waved back with a grin. This was the first meeting outside of the phone that they had ever had, and his blood alcohol content was already in the upper range of the legal amount (in Goyanean standards).

Ziska cocked an eyebrow at the Goyanean minister with a good-natured grin. "Really, Jon? 'Enjoy'? You'll be praying to the porcelain god with that ink all night…"

Her grin widened as she noticed the Dorsettian princess's wave, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Grace scratched her neck, "I actually haven't ever gotten high so... I guess I could try it. There's a first time for everything. What's it like?"
------------------------------
Johann Kanad II walks down to the bar and walks in, sitting next to Grace, "Hey cuz." She waves at him and continues talking. Johann orders whatever is closest to the bartend.

(Responding to Claidie) "Well... the car ride should be fun but we shall see what condition I'm in and whether or not that's such a good idea. We might have to push back ignoring your doctor's orders till tomorrow or the day after."

(Responding to Ziska) "Glad to hear you are enjoying it and your time here so far. If there is anything more that we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, just me or the resort front desk staff know and we'll be more than happy to help you out." (Kari sees PM Jon Norberg return to the bar and go to drink more Jaktmester.) (Still talking to Ziska) "Ugh, I agree with you. I have no idea how any sane person can drink something that tastes like cough medicine. I think I'll stick with my Cileni for right now."

(Responding to Grace) "Well... it really depends what strain you try and it also depends on how your body reacts to it. You may end up finding yourself in a fit of giggles or you may find yourself yawning and being comfortable just sitting on a couch. Generally though, smoking marijuana ends up making you very relaxed, skewing your perception of time and bringing about a joyful, euphoric and care-free attitude. I'll call MindFul Living and have them deliver a few joints of the Rosy Dream strain which usually ends up making people happy and relaxed."

Kari excused herself from the bar to make a quick phone call to MindFul Living and have them deliver a few Rosy Dream joints to the Caer Regency Resort and Spa and to call her when they arrived and were at the front desk. After waiting around for fifteen minutes or so, she got a call that the delivery people were at the resort so she walked over to the front desk to sign off on the delivery and pick up the weed after which she returned to the bar.

Olivia (and her wife, Anna) had been.. A little late, but still technically on time. After leaving the airport they had met up with her driver, Marcos. They had entered the odd looking car and almost immediately, the very kind Marcos greeted them.

"Welcome and good afternoon, Mrs. and.. Mrs. Wehrn. May I say it is my honor to drive both of you while you are here."

Olivia was about to respond when her wife, Anna, poked her. She spoke in Andrennian.

"I.. know what he said but I don't know how to respond in Mercanti."

Olivia responded to her in Andrennian.

"It's alright, I'll translate for you."

She switched back to Mercanti.

"Thank you very much, Marcos. I should tell you, my wife, although she can understand Mercanti, isn't very great at speaking it, so excuse her for any mistakes she makes."

"Of of course Mrs. Wehrn! It's not a problem at all. Now, I'll be taking you to the hotel where the others are right now."

---

A while later they had arrived, and stepped out of the nice car. They took their luggage, and while Anna went up to their room with a keycard to rest and pack her things away, Olivia just sent her luggage up there with her, aside from a slightly big purse with something heavy inside it.. Olivia herself decided to grab a drink.. Now where was that bar? After about 5 minutes and a few questions to the staff she managed to find the Ironwood Bar. Olivia recognized quite a few world leaders here.

There was Norberg, of course, Dorsett, and quite a few others. She was almost certain they wouldn't have any Andrennian alchohol, so sitting down at the bar she pulled out a smallish bottle of traditional Andrennian 'svaka', a bitter-ish alchol made with a bunch of herbs and spices, from her purse. Who knew what other Andrennian alcohols Olivia had in that purse? She asked for a shot glass, and poured herself a shot of svaka. She looked over at the other world leaders, and took a sip of her svaka. Norberg already seemed to be drunk.. Thank god there was no press at this event.

"Hej Olivia," He said.

Seeing as she was not the only one bringing their own alcohol, he felt bad for the bartender. He signaled him over.

"Half a shot glass of Cileni, please"

He filled the rest of the glass with Jaktmester and downed it. He did that two more times. By now he was already drunk.

---

Madison sat cross-legged on her bed. The balcony door of the room was cracked slightly open to allow the smoke from her joint to vacate the room. She gazed at the TV for hours. There was a pale blue glow on her face. The Merillian telenovela channel fascinated her. She didn't understand a single word of it, but she was enthralled in it. Luckily, there were subtitles on the bottom of the screen.

Maggie and the twins decided to make their way down to the bar for a few drinks and to see if anyone they knew were around. Walking in they could see there were a few recognizable faces, and some they'd only spoken to over video conference.

Walking over to the group they could see everyone had quite well started into the night. Maggie waited for a lull in the conversation "Well I hope we aren't too late to the party." She could see Norberg managed to find a couple bottles of his favorite drink.

Noticing Claidie was in the group she made her way over "It's great to finally meet you in person. I hope things are going well with your new position, but by now you're probably taking to it like a duck to water. I heard about your crash by the way. I hope you're feeling alright, you certainly seem none the worse for wear."

Morgan and Owen had made their way over to see Grace as they hadn't seen their friend in person since before the recent tragic events. Morgan gave Grace a big hug "So sorry..." Owen added in "If there's anything we can do, just let us know..."

After a short while one of the waiters made their way over to the group having noticed newcomers and empty glasses "Drinks anyone?" Morgan ordered the Cileni she'd been hearing people talking about, it sounded good. Owhen ordered a Rum Martinez but was considering swapping out the usual cigarette for something a little more relaxing. Maggie had noticed they had her favorite brand of Absinthe and knew immediately that'd be her choice.

"Hello Jon- I see you're already vörloran.." Olivia caught herself. Sometimes she would use Andrennian words in place of Mercanti ones, which was a habit she was trying to get rid of. It wasn't going well. "Er.. Lost.. How much Jaktmester have you downed in 10 minutes Jon?" She said, taking a shot of svaka after she spoke. She poured more svaka into a normal glass.

Olivia was wearing a casual-ish outfit. She had a knee-length red cocktail dress on, with a black unzipped leather jacket over it. She was wearing leggings underneath her dress and a pair of dark red flats to match her dress. Her short blonde hair was down, like it usually was. She had red lipstick, again complimenting her outfit, and some other make up stuff on.

[LATE SIGNUP]

Nation: Ninhundland
Name of Attendees (max of three): Dominik Huhrmann and Andrei Huhrmann
Number of Security (max of three): 3
Days Attending: 3 / All

---

To the nation of Ninhundland,

The Aos Si Fire Society welcomes Dominik Huhrmann and Andrei Huhrmann to the Fire Festival of the Aos Si and we look forward to welcoming them on the 30 April. You have also been assigned Anibal who will be picking you up from the airport on your arrival and will be your personal chauffeur around Caerleon for the length of your stay.

Regards,
Mônica de Lacerda

Grace stared at Kari, "So, uh, how exactly do I do this?" She took the marijuana and stared at her. She was suddenly hugged by Morgan, and saw Owen nearby. "Thanks guys." She hugged back Morgan.

Johann snorted and stood up, taking his drink with him. He sat outside, alone, and looked at the sky.

Kari handed one joint to Grace and took the other for herself and then pocketed the rest that had been delivered to the resort; she also got a lighter from her pocket. She explained to Grace that the joint was lit on one end then inhaled from the other end and that you took as short or as long a pull as you wanted followed by exhaling the smoke. Since this was the first time that Grace would be trying weed, Kari suggested short pulls until she was used to the smoke inhalation and the burning sensation in her throat. Once Grace seemed comfortable, Kari lit both of their joints and then asked around the bar whether anyone else would like a joint.

Ziska shook her head no to Kari and drained her Cileni, thanking the barkeep. The flight was long, and she was exhausted… and the smell from Kari lighting up would probably give her a headache eventually. She politely excused herself and turned to leave, nearly bumping into a glassy-eyed Prime Minister Norberg. She bid him a good night and retired to her room. Ziska kicked off her shoes upon entering, and slipped her pistol under her pillow before collapsing onto the bed. She heard screams, saw carmine, smelled sickening warm iron, felt the sting of claws across her palms, but whether it was a dream or a memory, she couldn't be certain.

The Equitarian delegation hurried through the airport, trying to make up for lost time after their flight had been delayed. Soon, they met up with the driver who would take them to their accommodation.

‘Sorry we’re late.’ The prime minister apologised to the driver. ‘Our flight left a little later than scheduled. I’m Maria, by the way.’

‘I’m Pedro. Please don’t worry about it. We’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes.’

During the car ride, Maria noticed her foreign minister staring at her as she looked out the window of the car. ‘What is it?’

‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ Portia replied. ‘You just seem engrossed in the surroundings.’

The prime minister turned back to face her colleague. ‘You forget, I’m nowhere near as well-travelled as you. The novelty of visiting different countries hasn’t quite worn off yet.’ She frowned slightly. ‘On the other hand, neither has the uncomfortableness with long flights.’

The flight had been a lot longer than a trip between two cities within Equitiar – something Maria was much more accustomed to. It had left her tired and she’d already decided that meeting the representatives from other countries was something that in the most part, for her, could wait until the morning.

-

After a while, they arrived at the hotel and were shown to where they'd be staying. The two Equitarians stood in the corridor outside their rooms, talking.

‘Are you coming down to the bar? I believe that’s where the other guests are.’ The foreign minister asked.

‘As much as I’d like to mingle, I think I’ll leave you to it. I’m still not feeling great after that flight.’

Portia nodded. ‘Ok, I’ll see you later.’ She headed down to the bar, having noticed that it was where most of the other international attendees of the Beltane celebration seemed to be.

"Finally we have made it to the Airport." After arriving late Dominik Huhrmann and his 16 year old nephew Andrei were already drunk from the plane ride and requested that Heichter (Ninhundish Drink) could be served so that others could try drinks from around Eras.

"Maybe we should cool of since its 24°C." At about 13:30 local time Andrei decided he wanted to get served while his uncle was busy talking to other political leaders. He hoped that he'd be allowed a drink without needing an adult with him.

One of the bartenders, Sofia, saw some new arrivals to the bar, one of whom was Andrei who stood out due to his young appearance. Seeing that the other foreign leaders were taken care of, she walked over to Andrei to see what she could get him, "hey there, welcome to the Ironwood Bar. So right now with the Fire Festival ongoing we have switched out our stock to carry more local drinks since we are catering to more Kaltians and Andalucians then we are foreigners. And before I can get you a drink, I will need to see some ID about your age since the law here is 16 for beer, wine and mead and 18 for everything else."

Shows ID. "I'm 16 as my ID says so would I be able to be served?"

Muttering Xentheridan curses, Heidi stepped out of the airport. It was a cool night in Caerleon - well, at least compared to night in Xentherida - and the moon glimmering brightly, high in the night sky above Heidi. It had to be her luck that the plane that she was on was delayed at Blackwater City Airport. An hour, maybe two, of waiting in the terminal had bored her out of her mind, her Diplomatic Protection officer likewise.

She walked briskly to the SUV, following her chauffeur - Rafael, she remembered - and got in, and soon enough they were on the main road towards the resort.

Jonas, however, being the ambassador to Merillia, was already in the nation, although he too was a tad late. All of his luggage had been quickly dumped into his room as he hurried to join the other world leaders in the bar.

He ordered a glass of Kaltian white wine, and as he waited at a nearby table, he observed the other leaders. Norberg was with Wehrn, downing shots; Hurhmann stood talking to other world leaders as his nephew tried to order a drink; and Kaltian bar workers walked around serving drinks and joints.

As Jonas watched the scene, Heidi stepped into the bar, ordering Ceretian whiskey, and the two of them sat at a table together, somewhat quieter than the others. But, after all, they would have to save their strength for the festivities.

Sofia took a look at Andrei's ID and once she was satisfied with his age she responded, "well we have mead, white wine, red wine and a selection of beers on tap. At the moment, our favorites are the Bahia Ale, the Merilian Porter, the Costeiro Kaltic Pale Ale [real life equivalent: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), Pale Moon [real life equivalent: Blue Moon and Highland Steam [real life equivalent: Anchor Steam Beer]. What would you like sir?"

Rajesh could not help but wonder about the interesting culture of the Kaltians. The Lord- the Horned God; the Lady- the Mother, Maiden, and Crone- it was all quite much for him. Plus, there was his mother as well, constantly texting him. "Beta? How are you? Beta, mummy misses you! I hope you're having fun! Beta, are you there yet? Beta, I love you!" BETA BETA BETA BETA! Enough!

Rajesh III, the Emperor of the Syrixian Empire, was as annoyed as a teenage son would be. But, unlike those years of his life, he knew well the Syrixian tenet of respect. He responded to each and every text without fail. Empress Mother Kasturba was still just that- his mother.

Crown Prince Bhudev was further back in the plane. Surprisingly, he had no work to do. He was enjoying himself on NationSim instead. One of the feeder regions, The Meterran Sea, was at war with another- The Phoenix Strait, of which the Crown Prince's nation- Seizon, was IT (International Tribunal) Delegate. He felt lucky. Not only did he have no work to do- impressive for the Imperial Crown Prince- but his sister Puja was stuck at home working on PU business.

Bhudev wondered to himself what the intricacies of the Phoenix Parliament were like now- he had not seen it since its early days, when Puja took over for him. But, he soon realized, he had to focus on both preparing himself for the Beltane Festival and for the next update- the PSA (Phoenix Strait Army) was to conduct a massive operation, with 35 users total, led by Captain Crypt, a senior PSA member.

Empress Jodha was sitting next to her beloved husband. "Jaanu, are you ready for the festival?" she said, in a worried tone. "It will be very interesting to see Kaltian cultural practices such as these up close. I can affirm this- I studied the Merilians extensively during my princely education." the Emperor replied. Just then, an announcement came on the PA.

Finally. The flight had taken hours- it wasn't a short distance between the Empire and the Merilian League, after all. However, they had finally arrived. "Your Magnificences," the pilot said via the PA system, "we have arrived in Caerleon, Kalti, Merilian League. I hope you all have a wonderful Beltane Festival."

Bhudev made sure that the Vice Delegate, Abecathena, and Javelina, the Minister of Defense, were able to take joint command of the operation during his absence. It was well-known within NationSim that Seizon was the Crown Prince of the Syrixian Empire, and he was able to leave without any fuss. He had more important, real-life duties to do. Bhudev then met up with his parents and, together, they exited the plane.

The two Imperial Sentinels accompanying them had already exited, and were waiting- one on either side- for the Imperial Family to disembark. Following this, the Syrixians went through the airport and met up with Gustavo, their driver, who did a short, slight bow and ushered them into the car.

"Greetings, Gustavo." the Emperor said as the family got in the car. "As you say in Syrixia," Gustavo replied, "shava, Your Magnificence. Shall we go to the Caer?" "Yes, that would be lovely. Are there any places near the resort where we could have a quick snack and drinks?" Rajesh asked. Gustavo pondered about it for a second or two, and then realized the answer was obvious. "You want the Ironwood Bar. It's part of the Caer itself. Not only that, but many other leaders are there right now, or so I'm told." Rajesh smiled slightly.

"That's good to hear." He remarked. Upon arriving at the Caer, the Syrixians, especially the Emperor, were impressed. Of course, it wasn't as large as the Imperial Resort, but it was certainly very luxurious. The palm trees, architecture style, and pool appealed to Rajesh especially. Providing it wasn't too deep. He hated deep pools for reasons only his family knew.

The Syrixians checked into the hotel, and immediately made for the elevator, putting in the number for the top floor, where the leaders' rooms were, and, after entering their rooms, settled in briefly. They were impressed with the hotel rooms- though not of the overall quality one'd find in the Empire, this room had a tropical flair. Plus, it was larger. Then, once everything was set, the Sentinels escorted Rajesh, Bhudev, and Jodha back into the elevator.

Jodha and Bhudev went to the spa along with a Sentinel, separating from the Emperor. The jet lag was annoying as hell, and Jodha needed to relax, especially at nighttime; as did Bhudev. Rajesh, meanwhile, along with the other Imperial Sentinel, went in the other direction, and, a minute or two later, entered the Ironwood Bar. Immediately, the Emperor noticed a multitude of world leaders at the bar, having drinks and talking. It was time for him to get in on the conversation. But who would talk to him first?

When Olivia heard the door open again she turned around.. It had to be him didn't it? Dominik Huhrmann.. The Prime Minister of Ninhundland. She groaned angrily as she turned back towards the bar. Olivia was going to need a lot more drinks to be able to withstand even saying hi to him, let alone sustain a conversation for more than a minute. Olivia despised Huhrmann. At first it was a dislike for the Ninhundish government but it turned into a personal dislike of their Prime Minister over time. Olivia slammed down her glass of Svaka, poured another, and slammed that one down too. It was safe to say she was already a bit drunk. When the door opened again she turned around again. There was only one type of person that would wear an outfit like that, and that was a Syrixian. But in a bar? That was an uncommon sight for Olivia. She shrugged it off, and tried to sip from her glass- But she actually had forgotten to refill it because she was angry and partially drunk. She refilled her glass once more and began to drink from it.

Grace took Kari's advice and took short, small pulls on the joint, coughing slightly from the smoke inhalation. After doing this a few times, she handed the joint back to Kari and then asked, "How long does it normally take for the marijuana to affect me?" Kari looked over, "it depends on the person whose smoking the weed and how their body reacts, I'd say it usually takes a few minutes to quite a bit longer. Though I will order us some food from the bar since one of the first things most people get affected by is the munchies." After walking away, Grace started to feel the effects of the weed with the most noticeable being that her mood was starting to turn from being sullen and somber and thinking of her late mother to one of being more relaxed, happy and calm.
Soon, Kari returned with some food, mainly fresh fruit and rice crispy treats. "I brought you some fruit and other snacks for when you start to get hungry which you probably will at some point in the near future." Grace took the fruit and set it down on the table in front of her and starting to think about smoking weed for the first time, "Well... this isn't so bad. Really seems like a great way to relax and calm down."
She saw Rajesh walk into the bar, "Hey, imma go talk to him," and instead of making herself presentable to meet the Emperor of a well respected empire, she stumbled over, tipsy and already being affected by the joint. She walks up to him and blew the hair out of her face, "Hey dude..." She giggles a little for no good reason. "W-what's going on?"

Claidie understood that Kari was busy with the other delegations and agreed to push the joyride to later on. "That's fine, Kari. It seems as though this place is rather busy now. We'll catch up later. Maybe by then the doctor won't object, or just give up," she said.

Seeing Maggie and the twins approach brought a wider smile to her face. Nodding to the twins and then to Maggie, she greeted the Tzarina, who she finally got to meet in person after a few chats over the phone. "A pleasure to see you here, Your Majesty. Hope things have been going well for you. It's been a rough couple months with my sister's parliamentary scheming and her nagging. 'Sis, you need to hold your coronation!' she says and I'm like 'No, I don't.'"

Flagging the bartender, she asked for another drink "Excuse me, could I have another Costeiro KPA, please?"

While looking around, she recognized Huhrmann from her dossier entering the bar. Her security, who were roaming around the room, watched her closely as she pointed to one of them, motioning for the guard to stay a little closer. She didn't particularly care for another run-in with a Ninhunder, Prime Minister or not.

Turning back towards Maggie, she continued her rambling. "Figure I'll have one more before bed. Maybe an ice bath when I wake up. Still a bit sore from the accident, but better than this morning. Maybe tomorrow the doctor will leave me alone."

The security guard Claidie called over informed her of Rajesh's arrival, and seeing Grace stumble over to the Emperor, she thought it best to go over herself to support the dazed princess.

(LATE SIGN UPS AND ARRIVALS WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS RP. THOSE WHO ARE RP'ING AT THE BAR (GOYANES, ANDRENNE, SIL DORSETT, SYRIXIA, XENTHERIDA, EQUITIAR, WOLFENSJAEGAR, SAA KANADA, CERETIS AND NINHUNDLAND) NEED TO POST FOLLOW UPS AND CLOSURE ON DAY 1. I WILL ALSO POST RESPONSES FROM KARI OR THE BARTENDERS IF NEEDED.)

Claidie seemed different then the usual Dorsettian leaders. She wasn't the usual prim proper and perfect nobility that Maggie remembered their leaders being. Though she also didn't seem to be abandoning their ways altogether. Her attire and actions were certainly fitting of her position, although her recreational activities and how she ran her lands were certainly different, more casual than the principality's previous leadership. "There always seems to be a squeaky wheel when governments change, it makes it worse when that someone is family. Just don't let your sister's 'scheming' and 'nagging' drive a wedge in family ties, history shows what can happen there."

Noticing Claidie's gesture toward the guards when the Ninhunders arrived. "Not on such good terms with them I see?" With a chuckle she returned to listening to Claidie talking about various things, she was quite a good conversationalist. Claidie's eyes looked for the nearest waiter "Figure I'll have one more before bed. Maybe an ice bath when I wake up. Still a bit sore from the accident, but better than this morning. Maybe tomorrow the doctor will leave me alone." An ice bath, that's quite brisk Maggie thought. "Maybe you could consider scheduling an early morning massage instead of the ice bath. From what I hear their masseur is quite good."

The waiter, with near impeccable timing, delivered a refill to the Tsarina's drink. Pausing for a moment to take a sip, she spent a moment enjoying the beverage's quality. She could tell the bartender was quite good at their job and weren't cutting corners. "The staff here seems to be keeping on top of things quite well especially dealing with so many different cultures, needs, and demands this event has placed on them."

Gesturing ever so slightly she drew Claidie's attention to the staff. "Look at how they go about their work, serving others and not themselves, anticipating the needs of others over their own; all while keeping quietly to the shadows and letting the situation be about the guests. This is, in a way, similar to the demands placed on the nobility and royalty. However our work is to lead in a way that leads to the best outcome of our people, and to fulfill the demands not so much our own wishes, but of our people." Taking another sip of her drink she continued. "If I might be so bold. I can see what your sister might be asking of you, and I can see you're not one for the usual pomp and circumstance in which so many of your family have immersed themselves. A coronation marks the start of one's rule, but might not fit your way. Maybe there is a solution... have you considered an 'Enthronement ceremony' or even an inauguration? It's far less flash and glitz and glamour but gets the idea across. But some advice, do what you feel is right for you and your people, and as long as you have BOTH your and their interest in heart and hand, it should work out just fine." With that she gave a gentile smile.

Seeing Grace stumbling over to Rajesh you could tell the situation was going to end up a highlight of the night. "This ought to be interesting... shall we?" Maggie joined Claidie as they headed over toward Rajesh and Grace.

Andrei responded "I'll take the Highlandsteam" this was his first time ever going to Kalti and already he was loving it. He wondered if there was any other youth here. "We're the other leaders too selfish to bring their younger family members?" He asked Sofia in his decent Mercanti.

Meanwhile PM Huhrmann after angrily starring at Wehrn had decided to see if any World Leader would even say Hi to him. He wouldn't be surprised if others would want to have a conversation since Wehrn was one of the only people who had a problem with him. He took a few more shots and then went to see if the Malorian or Cojedian Leaders were coming or not. He later found out they weren't.

Sofia made a mental note about what drink Andrei wanted and before heading back to the bar to get him his Highland Steam, she answered his question... "no. Mônica and the festival organizers limited attending foreign nations to a maximum of three people, be they government leaders or government officials alongside a maximum of three security guards. As far as I'm aware this was done as a security precaution but you would have to ask Senhora Sarrat or Senhora Lacerda for the exact reasoning. Anyways, I will be right back with your beer." Sofia headed to the bar, poured a Highland Steam from the bar tap and then returned to Andrei's table to hand it him. Afterwards, she looked around the bar to see if there was anyone else who wanted to order a drink.

---

Kari was standing off to the side watching all the world leaders converse among themselves. She noticed that Prime Minister Dominik Huhrmann seemed angry or upset about something and decided to walk over and talk to him before things came to a head and turned ugly. While she did not have her traditional security detail with her at the hotel, the hotel staff were more than prepared to deal with any unpleasantness that might arise and she herself could easily deal with issues since she had been taking self defense / contact combat classes. Walking up to PM Huhrmann, she extended her hand in greeting and welcomed him to Kalti and the festival, "Prime Minister Huhrmann... welcome to Kalti and the Beltane Festival. I hope you are finding everything to your satisfaction. How are things back home?"

Huhrmann already drunk didn't know what to say at first but then replied, "It's nice to meet and talk to you. Yes Beltane is amazing." . Some of his words were hard to understand since he was drunk. "Things here have been fine but the tensions between other nations in the the North-West have left some what bad relations between me and the other leaders mostly with Wehrn."

Waiting for her to respond he was just thinking about what to tell her about how things were back home. "Back home things are going great. Still tension and unstability but getting better. The new border policy with Andrenne by reopening the borders for people to travel across and stay in the other country is definitely a step forward however I'm still not prepared to talk to Wehrn since both of us are drunk and things could end badly. I'm feeling... While drunk he couldn't think of the Mercanti word Mediocre Middelmißig."

Kari listened and thought about how foreign affairs were going for the League before responding, "that's sad to hear of the tension going on in the Northwest. Prime Minister Nightsong and the Ministry deal with all external affairs of the League but I do still get consulted from time to time when a foreign affair directly affects the Federation of Kalti. Personally though, I handle all internal affairs and issues that directly affect only Kaltian citizens with one of those happens to be the Beltane Fire Festival and the other religious festivals so I try to make it whichever ones I can that I'm not too busy for. I do hope you enjoy the whole thing and walk away having learned something about a culture that is probably vastly different from those back north. Anyways, I see you have stopped by Old Town Beer, Wine and Liquor and picked up some Heichter, one of your local Ninhundish alcohols. Have you thought of trying any of the local Kaltian drinks while you are here?"

Rajesh was now faced with a drunk princess, a drunk princess regnant, and a drunk queen. How he got himself into situations like this was mindblowing, he thought to himself. Deciding to shrug off the disrespect coming from Princess Grace's greeting, he responded politely, "I'm quite fine at the moment, your highness. How are you faring this fine Beltane day?" Turning to Claidie and Maggie he said a short greeting as well- "Greetings, Your Majesty. And to you as well-" for a split second he was quite unsure as to what to call her, though the answer was obvious. "-Claidie." Though he took care not to show it in a rather conspicuous manner, he was confused with the very idea of a monarch preferring not to be referred to by their titles. Then again, he was the Emperor of the Syrixian Empire. The vast majority of his people revered him. Perhaps it was perfectly normal for other monarchs not to be referred as such if they so chose. Or perhaps not.

"Finally, someone gets it..." Claidie mumbled to herself in proximity to at least Maggie. "You know what," saying to Maggie, "I think Grace is going to be alright. I'm off to bed. It was a pleasure to speak to you, Your Majesty."

Turning towards Rajesh, she said a simple farewell. "Your Magnificence, it was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Perhaps we'll have more time to catch up during any breaks in the ceremony, but I must be off to bed now." She no more than nodded to those nearby and departed for her room with her guards in tow.

While the ice bath seemed tempting, Claidie had second thoughts about it, perceiving it as a bit extreme for her soreness. She decided to sleep it off, and perhaps have a morning massage if it was necessary.

(Storyline Status: I will be resuming the festival RP posts. As such, I am setting down some small guidelines moving forward. To those still wishing to participate, you may do so and if you need a refresher on where the festival stands, feel free to PM me and send me a message on Discord. One key thing that has changed is the setting and city being used is Alcária, the capital of the League... I will update relevant posts where necessary. Furthermore, Day 1 has concluded with the canon being that the world leaders chatted, caught up with one another, had a few drinks and then eventually retired to their rooms for the night. I will be picking up from the morning of Day 2 which will be the day of the festival. What your characters do between the morning and late afternoon is entirely up to you as long as it is within reason. Some ideas that you can use are: relaxing by the hotel pool, a visit to the hotel spa, a visit to one of the many city parks, visiting one of the city museums (I ask that you consult with me on the museums). If you have another idea, please run it by me first. The festival itself will take place in the evening of Day 2 so I ask that whatever your characters get up to, they be back at the hotel by late afternoon at the latest.)