Where Runes Lay Amongst Grey Stones (closed)

Býkonsviði, Prydania

November was here, and it felt like it in Býkonsviði. Dark skies and snow. It was only 5:00 and the sun hadn't been seen for an hour.

But even then, or perhaps because of it, the Prime Minister's office at the Haraldvirki* was cozy. Kjell had kept the lights in the ceiling fixtures off, keeping just a light in the far left corner of the room and a light on his desk on, giving the office a warm feeling amidst the white snow against the black sky.

He was relaxed himself. He could likely take this stack of paperwork and legislative drafting over the couch on the far end of the office and read everything until he passed out. Býkonsviði wasn't Stormurholmr, his home town, but on nights like tonight it always felt that way.

His office decor reflected that. Just above that couch that looked so inviting was a painting. It was a replica of an original painting which once again sat in Stormurholmr's civic museum, and it showed a brilliant comet streaking across the night sky, above the dark people and buildings of Stormurholmr. It was the Great Comet of 1681, seen across northern Craviter and Gothis.

The walls and his desk were also dotted with pictures- some of him meeting other foreign dignitaries but must showing his family and his friends. Those that were still with us and those that... weren't. And finally the painting of Stormurholmr's famous lighthouse, amongst grey skies and thrashing seas. It was just a bit of his home here, in the nation's capital. He went to sip some water when a knock startled him. It had been a quiet day and he wasn't expecting anyone.

"I'm sorry Herra Prime Minister," his secretary Hedinfrid Goplen said as she opened the door.
"The Deputy Prime Minister and the Chief of the ÖSU are here."

"They are?" Kjell raised an eyebrow over his glasses rims.

"Já sir."

That was odd. Something would have to amiss. He sighed as he felt some unease in his gut. The first time today. He leaned back in his chair some as he set the legislative drafts he was looking over down.

"Send them in Hedi."

"Right away sir."

It wasn't long before Sören Högh and Max Hvieti were both in his office. Sören's own office was in the same building of course, but Max had come from ÖSU HQ, out of town. He quickly discarded his overcoat to reveal that, yes, he was still wearing a Skandan shirt under it. The two sat across from Kjell as Hvieite dropped a thick folder on the desk.

"So what's got you two carpooling?" Kjell asked, trying to lighten the mood as he glanced at Max's folder.

"Go to Eras Daily," Sören said. Kjell shot him a confused look and then shrugged.

"There are less painful ways of giving me a brain tumour, you know," Svane remarked as he pulled up the Rayvostokan propaganda site masquerading as a news site.

And there on the front of the site's home page was a picture of Chairwoman Denvikov and the headline RAVOSTOKA APOLOGIES TO PRYDANIA.

"Huh," Kjell muttered in shock as he leaned back in his chair some more, looking at the screen before turning to Sören.
"This is for real?"

"It just happened."

"Why didn't you tell me they were planning on doing this?" the Prime Minister asked. Sören wasn't just the Deputy Prime Minister, he was the Foreign Affairs minister.

"They never told us they were. They never reached out, either directly or through an intermediary. They just did... this," Sören explained, a bit flabbergasted as he motioned towards Kjell's computer.

Kjell nodded and turned to Max.
"And you. None of your assets in Auroria tipped you off?"

"Lebedevgrad's government buildings," Max replied, not reacting to the Prime Minister's urgent tone, "have many a small dark room where handshakes happen. You can't know what goes on, fully."

"Hmmm," Kjell mused.
"And now?"

"My Aurorian sources," Max answered, "are telling me that it's genuine."

"So of course," Kjell said, deciding to jump straight into business, "the questions are why, and what do we do?"

"Clearly they're trying to thaw relations," Sören remarked.
"My best guess at this point is that they saw that Esþursia was not going to try and negotiate with us on their behalf so they decided to address us directly."

"Well speaking of Esþursia they've been negotiating for a while now, attempting to induce some reform."

"Já," Sören replied.
"I'd hesitate to call it successful but..."

"It depends on what you mean by reform," Max interrupted.
"They're calling it democratization but that's bullshit. It's just a more decentralized communist dictatorship with more localized autonomy. But no one has the right to vote the Messianic Communist Party out of power."

"But," Sören replied, "that was never a condition. Our embargo and freeze on our relations with them called for reform and shutting down the collectivized agriculture camps. Both have technically happened and they've reached out."

"Are you hesitant about this?" Kjell asked, turning to Max.

"I don't trust these sorts, unless there's something they can gain. Democracies tend to genuinely believe in their own rhetoric alongside their own geo-political interests. But a dictatorship is only as trustworthy so long as mutual benefit exists."

"Well," Sören said with a shrug.
"We can offer them an end to our embargo. Not only would their goods re-appear on our shelves but our goods would re-enter their market. And I'm sure the end to the embargo would help the perception that they're no longer isolated."

Kjell said nothing. He respected that from Sören but now was the time to be very matter of fact.

"I'm not sure we can do that."

"I'm not a fan of their government either, Kjell," he replied, but they've made positive movements in the right direction and they technically fulfilled what our embargo legislation demanded of them."

Kjell sighed. Sören could be a robot at times, swear to God.

"My caucus REALLY doesn't like Rayvostoka," Kjell said plainly. "Even if they have met our requirements, my caucus would not be eager to re-open negotiations with them."

Sören studied the Prime Minister. He knew why, of course, he knew that was likely the general mood of the country, but he had ro
see if there was some wiggle room. He simply didn't like seeing an opportunity go to waste.

"We are trading partners with Skanda and we're allies to Cogoria and the Stan Yera."

"Mutually beneficial relationships," Max interjected.
"Like I said," he added with a hand gesture that was halfway between a finger gun and a fist bump.

"The youth wing of my party isn't fond of them either," Kjell answered with a chuckle.

"I thought they brought you on board to be the adult in the room," Sören said with a slight smile of his own. Kjell frowned. He didn't care for the infantilizing of his caucus. And it was a reminder that while they were coalition partners, Sören was from a different party.

"I'm responsible to my caucus, same as you," he said bluntly.
"What is it that we stand to gain?"

"You're a diplomat, Kjell. I'm surprised you can't see it."

"I can see a lot of complaining. That's what I see. And I see Rayvostoka asking for more the moment they get a foot in."

"Always a possibility," Max interjected.
"Assuming another idiot takes power. Which... well... it happened already. So...."

"We embargoed them. We said we would not negotiate until certain conditions were met, and there were. You can spin this as a win. We stared them down, they backed down. Emphasize the closing of the camps and the end to collectivization. That'll play great with your base, and we look good. You got Kolfinnur Grundt a pardon. Play that compassion and forgiveness card."

Kjell looked over at the wall, to the picture of the famous Stormurholmr lighthouse.
"You know what they say about being too compassionate," Kjell said with an eyebrow raised above the line of his glasses.

"Something about elves leaving you for dead in the forest. I don't really know the whole thing, I'm city folk," Sören chuckled.

"That's the gist," Kjell replied and leaned back to sigh.

"I'll accept the apology tomorrow morning. I'll have the media know I'll be making a statement. You, Sören, contact the Esþursians and ask them to pass along to Rayvostoka that we're willing to talk. I'd like to switch from public gestures to proper diplomatic channels as soon as possible."

"Right," Sören replied, smiling as he stood.
"This seems right."

"I should hope so," Kjell answered.
"We'll reconvene in the morning. I just need to break the news to my caucus. Tonight."

"That'll be rough," Sören muttered. It was late. That would be it even harder.

"Já, so if you don't mind?"

Sören nodded, taking his leave as Kjell turned to Max.

"And you..."

"Já?"

"I need an ÖSU report on Rayvostoka's geopolitical outlook. Preferably by tomorrow morning."

Max nodded, and got up, grabbing his coat.
"You should talk to your people as soon as possible. You need a good night's sleep."

"Thanks for the heads up," Kjell replied, a bit coldly.

"I mean it. Tonight's perfect for it."

---

Max left the Haraldvirki as light snow fell, a car waiting for him to take him back to ÖSU headquarters. The moons glowed softly in the sky, and the snow danced on the lights. He nodded. Tonight was a good night to get some sleep.

---

*Haraldvirki- Harald Fort, the house of the Alþingi, Prydania's legislator

Lebedevgrad, Rayvostoka

It was midnight and the election had been called only an hour ago, Vera Federova had been bunkered in her office in the Narodny for almost half the day, eyes glued to the TV as the results were announced on Channel One. In the corner of the room, Igor Zaytsev, her aide, sat at a small desk typing away at his computer. Igor looked up at Vera, she was dishevelled, having been in the office for so long had taken its toll, and she looked exhausted.

"You best go home and get some sleep, Comrade Fedorova." Igor opined, closing his laptop halfway.

Vera rubbed her temples. "Sasha hasn't called yet. I'm not leaving until she does." The two had grown to be close, working together on the diplomatic campaign to display the country's democratisation and rehabilitate its global image.

"The new Premier is probably if I had to guess, also getting sleep. Not staying up til she collapses." Igor shook his head slightly.

"I'm not leaving yet." She insisted.

"Well then if that's the case, then I assume you will be perfectly fine with taking the time to arrange diplomatic talks with the Prydanians?" Igor reopened his laptop and opened his notes.

"Fine." The sleep-deprived woman rubbed her eyes and stretched in her chair, yawning.

"Perfect, first off who'll we be sending on the assignment? Comrade-President Sorokin?"

"Comrade Sorokin? He's a good choice, but do you think he'll be the right one for the Prydanians?" Vera knew the Prydanians would be the hardest to sell on the new system, they needed someone who could speak their language. It was one thing, to schmooze the Esthursians, but those Prydanians had a certain resistance to being told what they wanted to hear, a passive cynicism of sorts, which she had no doubts was a by-product of having to deal with Syndicalist propagandist tactics.

"Sorokin's the blunt type, I can't imagine that wouldn't be too unpopular with the Prydanians. He's from a rural background as well, not exactly a wheat farmer, but he worked on a collectivized sugar cane plantation and was in the Army so he can relate on that level. Not to mention, he's not exactly what I'd call an ideologue." Igor said with a shrug.

"He should be alright then, can he speak Mercanti?" Vera leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes.

"With a bit of an accent, but it's not too bad. It'll get his points across."

"Perfect, we'll send him,"

"What about gifts? Something nice I'd bet for their King and PM."

"I'd say the go-to is a good bottle of rum and some iced fruits from Muski, that'd be a good start." Vera could picture them in her mind, she was starving.

"Sounds nice, I'll have this all communicated to the Esthursians and we can get the actual process started," Igor said as he finished typing up his notes.

"Good, good, I'm just gonna rest a little." She said, her eyes now closed tightly as she lulled her head to the side falling asleep.

Býkonsviði, Prydania

"His Majesty Tobias III Loðbrók, by the grace of God, King of Prydania, Lord Protector of Austurland, Marshal of Býkonsviði, Lord Uniter, Defender of the Faith."

The herald's announcement to Apis of the King of Prydania rang through the throne room of Absalonhöll. As a military man he respected the value of protocol, and stepped forward into the chamber, his uniform pressed to perfection, the Varangian Guard insignia crisp as he nodded with respect to his host.

Apis was a proud man in general. He was a patriot of the Imperium, but he also valued his heritage. Part of which was here. The land of his ancestors. And seeing the King of that land, not to mention the head of state of a partner and ally, he was sure to show the proper respects.

"Apis Lupus Hardurum," the herald announced, as part of the pomp, announcing his arrival to the Prydanian King.
"Commander of the Eagle Cohort of the Varangian Guard, and representative of the Imperium Suavidici."

He stepped forward, keeping a hand on his ceremonial sword.
"Your Majesty," he said.
"I come to you baring the well wishes and greetings of Imperator Augustus."

---

Tobias leaned a bit to one side in the heavy oaken throne. He hated wearing the formal garb that his position sometimes demanded but... well... now was one of those times.
Yet he didn't let his discomfort show. He'd learned from the past seven years that these sorts of things were exercises in knowing your opposite number. Some of them, like him, would embrace the disregard for pomp. Some valued the pageantry. Apis was the latter. And so, at lest for today, was Tobias.

The interesting thing, though, was that this was not a ceremony involving ambassadors. The Imperium had an ambassador in Prydania. This was a visit that... well... that was something of a mystery. Neither Tobias or the government, however, were stupid. The Imperium had sent a man descended from perhaps the most famous Prydanian to serve in their armies for a reason.

Tobias stood.
"The Imperator's well wishes and greetings are always welcomed in our country, and I speak for all Prydanians when I say it's an honour to have a son of the House of Hardrada back on our soil."

---

Apis nodded again and approached the King. He'd met Tobias once before, years earlier soon after the Syndicalists finally fell. He was part of an Imperial delegation meant to make sure the new government would honour the grain agreement the Syndicalists had abandoned.
Much had changed here since but he felt he had a feel for Tobias then, and surely that wouldn't change? Though of the many things to change since were the birth of the Prydanian King's three children. Apis knew from personal experience, having children changes a man. His eldest was less than ten years Tobias' junior as well, and was just beginning his own military career.

As he approached the Prydanian King he knew what he'd have to do. They only knew each other briefly but Apis, through long and winding family trees, was an Eiderwig. Which meant he was, distantly, related to the King. And there was only one way to greet family.

He hugged him and was pleasantly surprised to feel Tobias hug back just as hard. He pat his arm.

"In the spirit of friendship and kinship, we have much to discuss," he said firmly. Tobias nodded and dismissed the stewards and herald, leaving just him, Apis, the government ministers, and the Knights of the Storm.

"Then let's get to it," Tobias said with a smile, the party emptying from the throne room into a conference room tucked away behind the ceremonial chamber.

Apis looked around. It was very cozy, reminding him of a hunting lodge. Oak wood lined the walls and ceiling and a long table of the same material dominated the room. Behind the head of the table, where Tobias was taking his seat, hung a tapestry showing a stag in a forest- a common symbol of the Prydanian monarchy- looking up into a starry sky, and a constellation of a winged lion holding a sword.

Apis knew the symbolism from somewhere but symbology was never his strong suit and he let the question leave his mind as he took a seat on the far end as the government ministers took their seats around their King.

"On a personal note, Your Majesty, I hope your family is well. It's the first I've seen of you in person since the birth of your children."

"They're doing well. Driving their mamma and pabbi a bit crazy which I think means they're just fine," Tobias said with a smirk.

"Yes, and I'm afraid it doesn't stop," Apis replied with a chuckle.
"They just find different ways to make you a bit mental."

That elicited a laugh from all involved, but Apis was here to do a job and he knew likewise the Prydanians would be curious to know why he was here.

"I won't mix words gentlemen. The Imperium considers Prydania a friend and partner. And this is why the news of a thaw in relations with the Palmyran entity concerns us."

He'd said it. He knew it was something that could cause some bristling. He was, on behalf of his government, telling another sovereign state what they should be doing. Rarely did that end well. But the relationship here was symbiotic. Apis was hoping that would sooth the bitter pill.

Tobias tilted his head a bit. He'd not been one to trust Rayvostokans. And honestly had been less than enthused at the prospect of smoothing over relations with them. But at the same time it was the government's place to make that call, not his. He understood in the Imperium those dynamics were... different. He wondered if Apis grasped that.

"My family," he said, feeling his heart race a bit, "was murdered by people like the folks you've come here to discuss," he said, keeping his voice as level and calm as he could.
"I hope you don't think I'm eagerly going to make friends with people who called me 'Comrade Loðbrók' without a hint of irony?"

Apis listened. It had been a while since he saw Tobias last, yes, but even the changes of time couldn't undo the type of person a man was. When Tobias talked like that, when he mentioned these symbolic things, they were representative of something bigger.

"My concern, and the concern of the Imperium, is that it's happening at all. The Imperium feels for the pain and struggle Prydania went through, more now than ever given our own troubles. And as a man who values his own heritage, I assure you it hurt me to see what those rogues did to my ancestors' homeland. It's why I come to you to express just how shocked we are this is going forward."

---

Tobias found himself weighed down by the legacy of the Storm of Craviter.
He'd come to embrace that William was right. Hell, that Kjell was right. That reconciliation and forgiveness the only way to break the cycle of violence. But some days it was just heavy. The need to smile and forgive... always forgoing the urge for vengeance. Tobias signed.

"Herra Prime Minister? I think... it's best if you explained it. I don't think I'm in the state of mind to be subtle."

Kjell Svane had kept quiet for most of the pomp that had engulfed the day, but as far as he was concerned it was all preamble to this...

He knew it wouldn't help to chastise the Imperium for inquiring about Prydania's foreign affairs. He leaned forward a bit, adjusted his glasses, and thumbed through some papers before he turned to Apis.

"No government other than the Imperium has been as harsh on the Rayvostokan regime..." he'd found that name was a suitable middle ground to use with Imperial officials... "as we have. We embargoed them and cut them off from our markets entirely. But that was only in the last three years. Before then we traded with them. We aren't going to embrace them as friends, but I don't see how a return to the pre-embargo status quo should bother the Imperium."

"A shift is a shift," Apis said bluntly.
"In this case it's a negative one, by the Imperium's calculus."

Svane wasn't phased. Hell, he'd dealt with worse during his career as a diplomat. This was nothing compared to the PGU council chambers.
"We are simply exploring the possibility of a baseline level of diplomacy. This doesn't impact our ongoing partnerships with the Imperium or other regional powers."

Scalvia. Kjell meant Scalvia. The Imperium knew of talks Prydania was having with Rayvostoka? He knew things too.

"I can give you four million reasons why, even if these talks go as well as they possibly could, we are not eager to embrace these communists as friends."

Four million. The number of Prydanians killed by the Syndicalist Republic.

"My country and yours," Apis said as he considered how to word what was floating in his head. He'd found the Imperial government's terminology needing work.
"We benefit each other. Money, grain, fish, meat, milk... it's a relationship millions of people depend on, both in Auroria and Craviter. We are simply approaching this with an abundance of caution."

Sören Högh was even more quiet than Kjell had been before Tobias gave him the que to speak. And that was fine. Sören was happy to do his job behind the scenes. That Kjell was a diplomat before he entered domestic politics meant that he could trust him with the Foreign Affairs Ministry's initiatives and not be out of depth while he focused on the nitty gritty.
Yet here he just felt... compelled.

Why? He didn't know. What he was going to say had been discussed and even approved... yet no formal agreement had been made on when to offer it to Apis.
Sören just felt it was time.

"Your Majesty, Herra Prime Minister," he said. It was proper protocol to at least acknowledge he two superiors...
"What if Herra Hardurum bore witness to our negotiations? A 'concerned party,' perhaps?"

Tobias and Kjell, though not knowing that was coming now, still expected it. And all three sets of eyes turned to Apis.
He smirked.

"I would sit on these talks?"

"The Kingdom of Prydania," Kjell began, "is a sovereign state and conducts its own foreign policy in the best interest of it and its people. But the Imperium is a friend and partner. Your government's stance is known and acknowledged, but you can see for yourself we're not rolling out the red carpet for the, ahem, reds."

"And," Sören added, "you can convey all of this to your government. I'm sure their concerns would be alleviated when you report to them."

Apis ran his hand through his greying blond hair- countless generations later and those viking genes didn't go quietly- and sat back.
He wasn't so bold as to assume he could interfere directly with these talks or dictate terms. He was chosen for this partially to take a far less assertive tact. Yet if he was present, if he was here... he could assure that the Imperium's voice was heard. And, if he played his cards right, even impact how this played out.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, it's a pleasure to know I will be staying a little longer in the land of my forefathers. I accept your offer."

---

Tobias had been silent since he stepped aside for Kjell.
As he listened the old debate, the old struggle, in his mind had re-emerged. Vengeance or reconciliation?

Maybe he'd never get his vengeance. Maybe the Rayvostokans, as much as they reminded him of the Syndicalists, didn't deserve his vengeance.

But this Varangian Imperial... if he was there... he could let the Rayvostokans know they were lucky for what reconciliation he offered.